


Muted Love

by tachiequillsluv



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Boy Love, F/M, Family Drama, Gay Love, Love, M/M, Multi, Mute Sasuke, Romance, Therapy, caretaker, hidden past, mental health, overcoming hardship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 37,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25715272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tachiequillsluv/pseuds/tachiequillsluv
Summary: Sasuke has been mute ever since his accident and all his brother, Itachi, wants is for him to have someone to take care of his little brother. In steps Naruto, an orphan who has a passion to make those around him happy but getting through to the stubborn raven is going to take more than just a smile.
Relationships: Deidara/Sasori (Naruto), Konan/Uchiha Itachi, Sai/Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

Naruto Uzumaki looked up at the three story mansion that stood in front of him. He stared in awe at the sheer size of the house before looking down at his smartphone that had the Craigslist posting for a live-in caretaker. He double checked the address before taking a deep breath and walking to the front door.  
He rang the doorbell and waited patiently as he heard hurried steps from behind the door. A guy, who looked to be about his age, answered the door with a scowl on his face and before Naruto got a chance to look him over, the guy was quickly signing to ‘go away’, and promptly slammed the door in his face. He blinked in surprise and was about to turn to leave when the door opened once again.  
“Sorry about my little brother, you must be Naruto?” An older replica of the guy who was just there appeared. Naruto nodded before quickly shaking his head and standing up straight.  
“Y-yes sir! I saw your ad on Craigslist to be a caretaker.”  
“Of course, come in. I just need to ask you some questions and we’ll see how it goes from there. By the way, I’m Itachi Uchiha.” He held out his hand for Naruto to take. Naruto looked down at the hand and gave him a firm handshake before following Itachi.  
Naruto admired the inside of the house as he carefully tried to keep up with Itachi.  
“Don’t worry, you’ll be given a tour of the house later.” Itachi gave him a wink and Naruto blushed before following him into a large living room.  
“Go ahead and have a seat anywhere. I just have to find Sasuke.” Itachi directed him to the middle of the room where there was a couch facing two chairs and a small coffee table in between. He watched Itachi leave the room before deciding to sit in one of the chairs.  
The room was sparsely decorated and felt pretty empty. The only spot that even looked like it was being used, was the bay window. It had a small bookshelf packed full with books and there were a few pillows on the bench. A forgotten coffee mug was also left on the window sill.  
“Sorry about the wait, shall we get started?” Itachi walked back into the room with Sasuke angrily following behind him. He stepped aside to let Sasuke sit on the couch first before pushing him down once he was in front of him.   
Naruto stared at Sasuke, he was handsome he had to admit.His midnight black hair framed his face perfectly, he could tell the guy was fit, but not too muscular, just how Naruto liked it. And those dark, onyx eyes that were staring into him. He blinked as he realized Sasuke was making eye contact with him, an eyebrow raised. ‘Take a picture.’ He signed at him before scowling.  
Naruto turned his head away, blush lightly dusting his cheeks. He looked at Itachi who didn’t seem to have notice the exchange between the two.  
“So, Naruto. Let me go over first, our situation here. Sasuke is mute due to a traumatic accident that took our parents lives about five years ago when he was 13. Ever since then, I’ve been doing my best to help Sasuke but I work pretty long hours and cannot always be there for him. Just recently, he tried to commit suicide.”  
Naruto’s eyes widened and he glanced at Sasuke who had his head turned, facing the doorway, his head leisurely resting on his hand.   
“Due to that, Sasuke is no longer allowed to be alone and that’s just not possible for me.So, that’s why you’re here. I wanted someone around Sasuke’s age, who also knew sign language. Now, let’s talk about you. You’re eighteen, just like Sasuke, and your parents are okay with you moving out and living here?”  
“I’m an orphan. To be honest, I don’t really have a permanent place to live. I aged out of the foster system about two weeks ago and have just been crashing on friends couches ever since.” Naruto smiled brightly at him.  
“I see. What about sign language? How did you learn that?”   
“At one of the foster homes I stayed in, there was a deaf girl who was always lonely. I wanted to play with her but we couldn’t really communicate with each other. I started to check out books at the library to learn sign language. I only knew a few things at first but I gradually learned more. Then in high school, I took it as my language for the four years. I’d say I’m pretty fluent.”  
Itachi’s eyes were wide. “I’m impressed. So how old were you when you decided to learn it?”  
“Around seven or eight.”  
“Excellent. Now, one final question, What makes you believe you’d make a good caretaker for Sasuke?”  
“Well, I’ve been taking care of children and sometimes even my foster parents almost all my life. I’ve had to be on suicide watch for a couple of the foster kids. One foster mother I had, she was addicted to drugs and I had to watch her when she was going to become sober. One of the foster parents I lived with just used me to watch his elderly mother while he went out gambling. I’d say I have plenty experience taking care of people.” He noticed out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke was staring at him intently, he fidgeted under the gaze and brought his focus back on Itachi.  
Itachi gave Naruto a thoughtful glance before nodding. “I see no problem with hiring you. What about you, Sasuke?” He turned to face his little brother who turned his gaze away from Naruto and back to the wall he was staring at earlier. “Well, there you have it. You got the job!”  
Naruto's eyes widened and he stared at Itachi, dumbstruck. “What? Really?!”  
“Yes. Now you can spend the rest of the weekend however you like but I'd like for you to be moved in by Sunday night so I can be at work first thing Monday morning.”  
Naruto gave him a quick nod before standing up and giving him a quick bow. “Thank you so much!”  
Itachi followed suit and stood up. “Would you like a tour before you go?”  
“I'd actually really like that.” Naruto said excitedly. “You have such a beautiful house.”  
“Why thank you.” Itachi smiled proudly. He looked down at Sasuke who was still staring at the wall. He roughly grabbed Sasuke's arm and pulled him up. “Stop being a little brat and let's go show your new caretaker where he’ll be staying.”  
“Uh, do you need to be so rough with him?” Naruto asked, concerned about the health of Sasuke's arm.  
Itachi let go and gave him a shrug. “I don’t need to be but that's what older brother’s are for. Isn’t that right Sasuke?” He ruffled Sasuke's hair as much as he could before Sasuke ducked out of reach. “Besides, he’s difficult to deal with anyways. Feel free to rough him up if need be.”  
‘I'm right here.’ Sasuke signed with a roll if his eyes. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked out if the room.  
“After you.” Naruto nodded at Itachi and followed after Sasuke.  
After the tour of the house, the two brothers watched Naruto get into his car and drive away.  
“So, he's pretty cute, don't you think?” Itachi gave Sasuke a smirk.  
Sasuke scowled in response. ‘He seems like a moron.’  
“Give him a chance. He's better than that one pink-haired girl who showed up last week.” The two of them shuddered at the memory and Itachi quietly closed the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Sunday night, Naruto arrived at the Uchiha's house around seven, a large suitcase in hand. He rang the doorbell and waited for either of the Uchiha brothers to answer the door.

He wasn't surprised to see Itachi at the doorway, a smile on his face. "Hey, Naruto. Dinner's almost ready, you can set up in room next to Sasuke's." He opened the door wider to allow him through. "You remember where that is, right?"

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I think so." He headed towards the stairs as Itachi headed back into the kitchen. He stopped on the second floor and made a right, vaguely remembering the tour of the house from the other day. He stopped in front of the last door in the hallway and opened the door. "Aha!" He exclaimed as he remembered the room as the guest room.

He set his suitcase on the bed and unpacked the little clothes he had into the dresser against the wall. After finishing, he zipped the now empty suitcase and placed it in the closet. He took a look around the bedroom. It was pretty empty besides the bed and dresser that had a mirror hanging above it. He figured the longer he stayed, the more he could make it feel like his own.

He took a glance at the door next to his closet, which he learned was a shared bathroom with Sasuke. He walked over and opened the door, deciding on taking a shower.

As soon as the door was open, he gaped. There standing in front of the mirror was Sasuke, shirtless with only a towel wrapped around his waist. The room was filled with steam from his shower.

Sasuke did nothing but stare as Naruto stood in the doorway. After a minute of silence, Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question.

"Oh, uh sorry!" Naruto stammered, avoiding his gaze. "I didn't realize you were in here. I should've knocked first. Not that you could respond anyways, as you're mute and all. But I, uh, I guess you could've knocked back on the door or whatever-" He was interrupted by Sasuke slamming the door, going into his own bedroom. There was a click, indicating that he locked the door.

Naruto let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He turned the shower on and got undressed. As he stepped in the shower, he couldn't get the sight of Sasuke's half naked body out of his mind. He groaned as he felt himself get hard. "Guess it's gonna be a cold shower."

After his shower, Naruto got dressed and headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Itachi was hovering over his tablet, studying it carefully.

Naruto hopped onto one of the barstools and leaned forward on the island's counter. "Whatcha doin?"

Itachi briefly looked up at Naruto before giving his attention back to the tablet. "I'm just looking at the different types of salads. Not sure whether to go with just a classic caesar or walnut and cranberry salad."

Naruto raised his head, interested. "What's for dinner?"

"Lemon pepper chicken."

Naruto hummed in thought. "What about a greek salad? It's a little bold, but I think it would go great with it."

Itachi once again looked up from his tablet and gave Naruto a blank stare. "That's actually, a really good idea." He broke out into a smile. "Do you cook as well?" He went over to the fridge and pulled out the ingredients.

Naruto shook his head. "Not really. I can barely boil water. But I love food and watch those cooking shows all the time. So I learned a thing or too."

"You'll have to help me out in the kitchen more often then. Sasuke just comes in here to grab a plate and then disappear."

The two of them turned to look as Sasuke sat down on a barstool next to Naruto.

"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear before your eyes." Itachi gave Naruto a wink.

Sasuke scowled and then stuck up his middle finger. He turned his gaze to Naruto as Itachi went back to making the salad. 'How was your shower? Seemed like you enjoyed yourself.'

Naruto's face became a deep red as Sasuke smirked at him. 'You're a pervert for even listening.' He quickly signed back at him.

'I can't help but to hear when your moaning can be heard from the house next door, dumbass.'

Naruto gave him a glare. 'Shut up, I hardly made a sound, bastard.'

'Could've fooled me.'

Naruto growled and slammed his fist against the counter.

"Everything alright?" Itachi asked, his tone had a hint of curiosity.

"Yeah, everything's just fine! I-I'll go set the table for you." Naruto quickly stood up. "You eat in the dining room, right?" He didn't wait for an answer as he took the stack of plates that were sitting on the next counter next to the stove.

Itachi watched after him, an eyebrow raised before turning to look at Sasuke. "What's up with him?"

Sasuke gave him a bored look. 'I told you, you hired a moron.' He stood up. 'Call me when dinner's ready.'

Itachi waited until Sasuke left the room before shouting his name. Sasuke walked back into the room, a scowl on his face. He smiled brightly at his little brother. "Dinner's ready."

The three of them sat down at the small dining room table. Naruto sat next to Itachi with Sasuke across the table. He looked down at the food in front of him and practically drooled.

"This looks delicious, Itachi!" Naruto smiled brightly at him. "Thanks for the food!" He began to eat with vigor.

Itachi smiled at him while Sasuke gave him a look of disgust before shaking his head and starting to eat.

"So, I wanted to go over what will happening tomorrow." Itachi began, halfway through dinner.

Naruto glanced at Itachi then to Sasuke who was resting his head on his hand and slowly eating his salad. He nodded once at Itachi to show that he was listening.

"During the morning and early afternoon, you're free to do whatever, so long as you can supervise Sasuke. You don't necessarily have to be in the same room as him but checking up on him every hour would be good. At 2:30, he has group therapy, he has that Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's. He's only been going for two weeks now, so he'll need a translator since last I heard, the coordinator didn't know sign language. I'll put the address on the fridge along with the phone number."

"Does he have a job or anything that I need to be aware of?" Naruto asked.

Itachi shook his head. "All the money he makes, he makes at home. He's a freelance for graphic design, so most of the time he spends in his room. So, for bed, I'd appreciate it if you could stay in his room until he falls asleep, you know how dangerous thoughts can be before bed."

Sasuke scowled up from his plate. 'I don't need a babysitter! I can go to bed on my own.'

Itachi rolled his eyes. "I know you can, but I don't really trust you too. At least for now, this is how it's going to be, Sasuke."

Sasuke slammed his hands on the table before pushing his chair back and stomping his way to the stairs.

Naruto watched, a concerned look on his face. He turned to face Itachi who was smiling at him. He blushed under the his gaze and started to fiddle with his fork. "Does he have any allergies or anything? Or anything I should keep away from him?"

"We don't keep razors in the house, so if you need to shave, you'll have to sneak into the bathroom down here and keep the razor in your car. Also, any medication would be best to leave in your car as well. Other than that, he doesn't have anything that needs concerning."

Naruto nodded and noticed that Itachi's plate was now empty. He quickly stood up. "Let me get the dishes for you!" He grabbed the plates off the table and headed into the kitchen.

"Thank you, Naruto. I'm going to work on some of my assignments for work. Feel free to bug Sasuke for the rest of the night." He left and went up the stairs.

Naruto let out a breath after finishing the dishes. He went up the stairs and knocked on Sasuke's bedroom door. He waited patiently for the brunette to open the door.

Sasuke opened the door and walked back to his computer desk. He placed an earbud in one ear and continued to work on a design logo.

Naruto looked around the room before heading inside and sitting on the reclining chair that was in the corner of his room. "Whatcha workin' on?"

Sasuke chose to ignore him, working quickly with his mouse.

"Looks pretty cool."

More silence.

"How long have you been working on it?" Naruto's eyes widened slightly when Sasuke quickly spun around to give him a glare. Naruto gave him a grin and the raven's eyes narrowed.

'You don't need to constantly be around me. I can handle myself. Go back to your room.'

He shook his head. "Nope. Itachi said to stay with you until you fall asleep and that's exactly what I plan on doing."

'He didn't mean it literally, moron.'

Naruto gave him a quick glare. "Doesn't matter, I don't want to lose this job before I even really start to work."

Sasuke looked him over before scowling and turning back to his computer. He placed the other earbud in his ear and ignored the blonde.

Naruto studied Sasuke for a few more minutes before he pulled out his cellphone. He logged onto Facebook and absentmindedly went through his feed.

He realized he fell asleep when he felt himself being shaken awake. Through blurry eyes, he saw Sasuke's scowling face. "Hey there." He gave him a smile and Sasuke's scowl seemed to deepen.

'I'm going to bed.' Without signing anything else, Sasuke crawled into his bed and pulled the covers over his head.

Naruto stood up, stretching with a groan. "Alright then, goodnight." He walked through the bathroom and into his room where he set his alarm for the morning and went to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto’s alarm went off around 8 in the morning. He looked at his phone with a yawn before getting up. He went into the bathroom where he relieved himself and gave a knock on Sasuke’s bedroom. “If you’re up, make some type of noise.”   
He pressed his ear to the door and jumped when a loud banging sound was heard. He opened the door to see Sasuke sitting up in his bed glaring at him. He looked down to see a book on the floor, most likely the object that was thrown. He gave him a big grin before stepping into the room, picking up the book. “I’m sorry princess, did I wake you?”  
Sasuke gave him the bird before standing up and stretching. He was only wearing sweatpants and Naruto couldn’t help but to admire Sasuke’s lean form. ‘Like what you see?’ He signed with a smirk.  
Naruto turned away blushing. “S-shut up bastard. What do you want for breakfast?” He walked over to place the book on Sasuke’s desk and turned to face the raven, the blush still present on his face.  
Sasuke gave him a shrug and walked over to his closet, taking out a black T-shirt and a pair of dark grey skinny jeans. ‘I’m taking a shower.’ Before Naruto could say anything else, Sasuke walked into the bathroom.  
Naruto let out a sigh as he headed downstairs and into the kitchen. “Oh, Itachi! You’re still here?” He tried to hide the surprise he felt when he saw the older Uchiha casually leaning against the island, a mug of coffee in his hand.  
Itachi gave him a smirk. “I have some flex time and decided to use that while waiting to make sure you're all set for today.”  
“O-oh, of course!” Naruto quickly nodded. “Yeah, I have the directions and phone number to his group therapy. I even set a reminder and everything. I just made sure he was awake and he’s taking a shower now so I decided to make breakfast.”  
Itachi gave him a nod before standing up and placing his mug in the sink. “Well, it seems like you have everything under control. If you need anything, you have my number so you can text, call for emergencies. I should be home around 7, feel free to have dinner without me.”  
Naruto nodded. “Alright. Have a good day, Itachi!” He watched as the older brother left the room before letting out a breath and started getting breakfast ready.  
When Sasuke finished his shower, he headed downstairs to see an omlette, toast, a cut up banana and a glass of orange juice waiting for him on the island. His eyebrows raised in surprise and he looked up at Naruto who just finished cleaning the pan.  
“Oh, hey Sasuke. I made a tomato and cheese omelette, I hope you like tomatoes, i wasn’t too sure.” He nervously laughed as he sat down with his own plate.  
‘I thought you told my brother you didn’t know how to cook.’ Sasuke looked down at the food suspiciously.  
Naruto shrugged. “It’s not like I don’t know how it’s just I’m not that good.” He laughed as Sasuke started to poke at the omelette, wary of eating it. “I don’t think it’s bad enough to kill you.” he took a bite and nodded in approval. “It’s good.”  
Sasuke gave Naruto one last look before taking a bite of the omelette. Naruto stared at him in anticipation as he watched Sasuke eat. Sasuke gave him a shrug before continuing to eat with hidden content.  
“I’ll take you still eating it as a sign that you like it.” Naruto smiled. “So, what do you wanna do this morning?”  
Sasuke ignored the blonde, leaning his head in his hand as he continued to eat.  
“I mean, we don’t really have to do anything together, I guess.” Naruto shrugged. “It would just be nice to get to know each other, don’t you think?”  
Sasuke gave him a pointed look.  
“Or not. That’s cool too, I guess.”  
‘I have work to do.’ Sasuke finally responded after some time.  
“Oh, okay.” Naruto tried to hide his disappointment. He stood up and picked up his plate and took Sasuke’s after asking if he was finished. He walked over to the sink and started to wash the dishes.  
Sasuke watched him for a minute before letting out a small sigh. He knocked gently on the counter, getting the blonde’s attention. ‘If you want, you can hang out in my room.’  
Naruto watched him carefully before he smiled brightly. “Awesome!”  
Sasuke scowled at him, standing up. ‘Just don’t be annoying.’  
Naruto chuckled. “Okay, okay. I’ll head up after finishing the dishes.” He watched out of the corner of his eye as Sasuke headed up to his room. He smirked to himself and finished up before  
heading to Sasuke's room.  
Without knocking, Naruto entered the room and sat down in the chair from the night before.  
Sasuke glared at him for the brief interruption before turning back to his computer.  
Naruto studied him for a bit before dragging the chair closer to Sasuke. “So whatcha workin on?”  
Sasuke's eyes widened at Naruto's closeness as he quickly turned to see Naruto practically leaning on his shoulder. He pushed the blonde's head away with a scowl. ‘Not so close, moron.’  
Naruto put his hands up in surrender, leaning back in the chair. “I got it. So, whatcha workin on?”  
Sasuke was silent before briefly moving a bit so the blonde could see over his shoulder.   
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the screen. “What is this?”  
Sasuke rolled his eyes and gave the blonde a blank stare.  
Naruto glanced at Sasuke. “What?”  
‘It's a poster, dumbass.’  
“Of what?”  
‘Characters from a video game.’  
“Oh.” Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. “Yes, yes. I get it now.”  
Sasuke shook his head before giving his attention back to his computer.  
Naruto opened one eye to watch Sasuke. He leaned forward once again, keeping a safe distance from Sasuke. “So is this for a company?”  
Sasuke paused and shook his head. ‘I do fanart. People go to my website and order stuff. Or they can get something custom made for extra.’   
“Cool! You have a website?! Let me see!” Naruto excitedly sat up in his seat.  
Sasuke rolled his eyes and held out his hand. Naruto looked at the outstretched appendage before giving a questioning look to Sasuke. ‘Phone.’  
Naruto quickly unlocked his phone and handed it to him, watching as Sasuke quickly typed on the device. After finishing, he handed the phone back to the blonde who looked on in amazement. “You can do all this? Really?”  
Sasuke nodded and went back to his computer.  
Naruto scrolled through the website, commenting every few swipes. As he reached the end of the page, he bookmarked the site before giving his attention back to Sasuke. “You're really good at this. How come you don’t work for big businesses and make a shit ton of money?”  
Sasuke turned to face Naruto, something about Naruto's natural curiosity made Sasuke want to answer the blonde’s questions. ‘As you can see, money is not an issue for me and my brother. Working for a business would stifle my creativity and make me hate doing this. At least with this I have freedom to do whatever, making money is just an added bonus.’  
“Ah, I see.” Naruto nodded then smiled brightly at Sasuke. “As long as it makes you happy, right?”  
Sasuke lightly blushed at the blonde’s smile and quickly went back to work.   
The rest of the morning and early afternoon the two boys spent their time in Sasuke's room, only breaking for lunch where Naruto ordered them a pizza.  
At 1:30, they got into Naruto's car and headed to Sasuke's group therapy. They arrived with 15 extra minutes to spare.  
Sasuke led Naruto through the building, turning corners until he stopped in front of a double door. The doors led into a large open room where a circle of chairs were placed in the middle. The chairs were empty except for one where a guy who looked to be in his late twenties was sitting with a clipboard and papers in hand. He had snow white hair and a cloth mask was covering the bottom half of his face. He smiled at the two boys as he entered the room. “Welcome Sasuke!”  
Sasuke gave no greeting to the man and instead sat in a chair, crossing his arms across his chest.  
The man turned to face Naruto. “I'm Kakashi Hatake, the group coordinator. You must be Sasuke's new caretaker.” He held out his hand for Naruto to shake.  
Naruto firmly grasped the hand and gave the man's hand a shake. “Yep, that’s me, Naruto Uzumaki. I'll also be interpreting for him as well.”  
“I'm pretty sure Sasuke will be grateful for that. Now he doesn’t have to be constantly be writing.”  
Naruto nodded. He then studied Kakashi as he smiled at the blonde. “Hey, why do you wear that mask?”  
There was a loud slapping sound and Naruto and Kakashi both looked over at Sasuke whose hand was now covering his face.  
Kakashi chuckled and faced Naruto. “I see you're pretty blunt, but to answer your question, I wear it due to facial scarring from an accident that happened a few years back.”  
Naruto hummed in response. “Isn’t that just hiding what happened instead of embracing your flaws? I mean, you're literally hiding behind a mask.”  
Sasuke's eyes widened and Kakashi just smiled at Naruto. “You're absolutely right. It's a coping method, and this is a safe place to talk about all that.”  
Naruto nodded his head and sat next to Sasuke who glared at him. “What?”  
‘You’re an idiot. You don't go around asking people why they do whatever they're doing. Especially if you just met them.’  
Naruto pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the floor. “I just wanted to know. Don't have to get so mad, bastard.”  
“Sasuke!” A high pitched voice called out from the doorway.  
Sasuke tensed and Naruto gave him a quick glance before looking to see a girl with long red hair and glasses waving at the door. She ran into the room and quickly sat down in the chair next to Sasuke. She grabbed onto his arm and leaned into him.  
“I've missed you so much, Sasuke! Did you miss me?” She looked at him hopefully.  
Sasuke didn't move, staring straight ahead.   
“After group, do you want to go out and see a movie?”  
Sasuke turned to Naruto and pulled his arm out of the girl's grip. ‘Tell her I will never go out with her ugly ass and I want her to leave me alone.’  
Naruto glared at the raven. “Sasuke! You can't say those types of things!” The raven responded with a smirk as he watched Naruto lean forward and give an apologetic look to the girl. “Sorry, he says he doesn't want to and would appreciate it if you didn’t ask again.” Sasuke sneered at the blonde’s kind words and decided to glare at the wall ahead of him.  
The red-haired girl looked Naruto over before tilting her head in question. “Who are you?”  
Naruto sat up straight in his chair, puffing out his chest slightly. “I am Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke's caretaker!”  
“So you didn't go for Sakura then, eh?” A girl with blonde hair that was pulled high into a ponytail walked into the room, taking the seat next to Naruto. “Smart choice.” She gave a quick glance at Naruto before giving him a wide grin. “Ino Yamanaka.”  
“Naruto Uzumaki.” Naruto quickly replied. He turned to face the red-headed girl. “Uh, sorry, I didn’t get your name.”  
“Karin Taka.” Karin gave him a weary glance.   
“Yo everyone!” A brunette walked into the room, red triangle tattoos on his face. “I'm here now and so is Suigetsu! Don't fret.”  
After the brunette walked in and sat next to Kakashi, walking in after him was a boy with white hair who took the last seat next to Ino.  
“Hey, you’re new!” The brunette pointed at Naruto. “The name's Kiba Inuzuka! And that over there is, Suigetsu Hozuki.”  
Suigetsu sneered at Kiba. “You don’t need to talk for me, Kiba.” He turned and smirked at Sasuke. “Unlike Sasuke.”  
Sasuke rolled his eyes before giving a bored look to Naruto. “Uh, my name's Naruto Uzumaki! I'm Sasuke's caretaker.”  
Kiba flinched and shook his head. “I'm so sorry.”  
“So Itachi finally went back to work?” Ino asked with a huff. “That sucks, he was pretty hot. It was nice to have something nice to look at.”  
“Hey!” Kiba and Suigetsu shouted at the same time.  
“Well, now that everyone's here,” Kakashi spoke up, causing the room to look at him. “Let’s get started!”


	4. Chapter 4

“So, last week we talked about stepping outside of our comfort zones.” Kakashi started. “First, let's welcome Naruto. He's going to be working with Sasuke. Feel free to jump in any discussion you feel comfortable with, Naruto.” He gave the blond a wink before giving a once over to the room.  
“Does anyone want to go first with sharing their experience on what they did to go out of their comfort zone?” Kakashi looked around the room, no one making eye contact with him. He let out a sigh. “Okay, I'll go first then. Over the weekend, when my boyfriend came over, I kept my mask off the whole time.”  
The room was shocked into silence looking at Kakashi in awe. He smiled at them as best as he could before asking once again who wanted to go next.  
Naruto quickly raised his hand and Kakashi called on him. “Well, to be honest, I'm usually an open person anyways but, I decided to apply for the job of being Sasuke's caretaker even though I didn’t think I'd be qualified for it.” He shrugged before giving the room a wide smile and threw his arm around Sasuke’s shoulder, pulling him closer. “But now me and this guy are the best of friends.”  
The room laughed as Sasuke rolled his eyes. ‘In your dreams, moron.’  
“He says he loves me.” Naruto smiled mischievously at Sasuke who only glared in return.  
“Thank you Naruto, for sharing. Now who wants to go next?” Kakashi once again looked around the room before letting out a sigh. “Now, Naruto can't be the only one sharing.”  
“You're right,” Kiba suddenly sat up in his chair, a look of determination on his face. “I'll share next.” He let out a sigh. “Well, over the weekend. I actually petted a cat.”  
Sasuke let out a snort as Naruto looked at him in confusion. “What?”  
Sasuke gently tapped Naruto's arm, trying to get Naruto's attention. ‘He's a bigger moron than you. Miracles happen everyday.’  
Naruto glared at him. “Shut up, you jerk.”  
“What did Sasuke say?” Karin leaned forward to look at Naruto, eyes curious.  
Naruto looked between the two, Sasuke looking half amused, half annoyed. “Uh, he said, um, that he loves cats and doesn't see what the big problem is?”  
Karin’s eyes gleamed as she sat back in her seat, mumbling to herself.  
“Well Sasuke, the big deal about cats is that when I was younger, I was attacked by that gang of strays. Weren't you listening that first week?”  
Sasuke rolled his eyes before giving a quick glare to the blond, who returned it with a sheepish smile.  
“Thanks for sharing Kiba. Now, who'll go next?”  
“I will!” Ino exclaimed, sitting up straighter in her chair. “So, as you all know, well except for you Naruto, I'm dealing with anorexia. So, over the weekend, my parents wanted to celebrate another successful season with their business. They asked me where I wanted to go to eat and I suggested a buffet.”  
A gasp came from Karin and she leaned forward in her seat. “A buffet?! Like an all-you-can-eat one?” Ino nodded and Karin leaned back in her seat. “How much did you eat?”  
“Three whole plates.” She replied with a smirk.  
“Impressive.” Suigetsu said with a nod. “Now, I'll go next. I went with my cousin to a swimming pool and actually swam.”   
Naruto looked on in confusion as Suigetsu didn't seem to want to explain further. He looked to Sasuke who had his arms crossed.  
“Alright so now it's Karin and Sasuke. Which of you two want to go next?”   
“I will.” Karin volunteered. She took a deep breath. “I went on a date and when he dropped me off, I didn’t follow him or look him up online.”  
Naruto’s eyes widened and he looked to Sasuke, eyeing the grip Karin had on his arm with mild concern.  
“That’s a pretty big step for you, Karin.” Suigetsu nodded. “The guy must’ve been ugly, huh?”  
Kiba held back a laugh as Ino and Karin glared at him. “Shut up you stupid fish boy! For your information he's pretty good looking. Not like it's any of your business.”  
Kiba nudged Suigetsu in the side. “She probably met him in the nut house. He's probably crazy enough to show interest in her.” The two of them started to laugh.   
“Don’t listen to them Karin, they're just idiots.” Ino looked at her, frowning slightly.  
“Is this always like this?” Naruto leaned to Sasuke, whispering quietly.  
Sasuke only responded with a shake of his head and a bored look.  
“Alright Sasuke, looks like you're the last one.” The whole room looked at Naruto and Sasuke expectantly.  
Naruto looked around the room before facing Sasuke. “Alright the pressure is on, they're waiting for an answer.”  
‘Don’t overreact. Promise me.’ Sasuke gave him a glare and Naruto felt his stomach beginning to do flips. He nodded, unsure of what Sasuke had to say.  
‘I stepped out of my comfort zone by letting someone, besides my brother, into my room for the first time.’  
Naruto's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something before Sasuke gave him another glare. ‘You promised.’ Naruto closed his mouth and nodded before relaying the message back to the group.  
“Well, thank you everyone for a good session today. We'll discuss more on Wednesday.” Kakashi stood up and the rest of the room followed, all stopping outside.  
“So, Sasuke and Naruto, we're all going to grab a bite to eat after this? Wanna come?” Ino asked the two of them before they headed to the car.  
Kiba snorted. “You ask Sasuke everyday and the answer is always no. I don’t know why you even bother.”  
“Sure, we'll go.”  
The five of them all turned to face the blonde, Sasuke glared while the other four looked on in awe.  
‘I don't want to go, dumbass. Let's go home.’  
Naruto gave him a smirk. ‘What about stepping out of your comfort zone, asshole? These people just want to be friends with you.’  
He gave him a scowl. ‘I don't need friends.’  
Naruto's smile grew brighter. ‘We're going and that's final. You need to get out more.’  
Sasuke glared at the blonde and Naruto kept his smile, gaze not wavering. Finally with a suck of his teeth and a sneer, he turned away, admitting defeat to the blonde.  
“Yeah, so we'll be joining you.” Naruto turned towards the group, smile still on his face. “We'll meet you there, just tell me where to go?” He held out his phone and Ino eagerly grabbed it, typing in the address.  
“Well done, blondie!” Suigetsu threw his arm around Naruto's shoulder. “We've been trying to get the ice prince to join us forever and you've managed to do it in a mere 2 minutes. Impressive.”  
“I told you he loved me.” He snickered as he saw Sasuke roll his eyes and started to walk towards his car. “Alright, well see you in a bit!” He quickly ran after Sasuke.  
The two of them arrived at the diner that Ino gave them the directions too. They patiently waited until the rest of the group arrived.  
“We have our own special booth in the back that Sakura always reserves for us.” Ino said over her shoulder as Naruto and Sasuke trailed behind.  
Sasuke quickly stopped and grabbed onto Naruto's sleeve.  
“What?” Naruto asked, looking at Sasuke with concern when he saw fear flash across his eyes.  
‘I can't go in there.’  
Naruto narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Why not?”  
“You two love birds coming?” Suigetsu called out as the four of them looked at them with curiosity. Kiba started to laugh as Karin hit Suigetsu over the head.  
“One sec, go on ahead.” Naruto waited until they were in the building before turning back to Sasuke. “What's the problem now?”  
Sasuke turned away from him, a scowl on his face. ‘I just can't go in there.’  
“Why? Is the food bad or something?” Naruto looked up at the sign on top of the building and shrugged. “If you won't tell me, I can't help you out.”  
‘Its Sakura.’  
There was silence until Naruto let out a quick, sharp laugh. “You're afraid of girl. Oh, this is priceless!” He started to laugh harder as Sasuke's face turned a darker shade. “The almighty, fearless, Sasuke Uchiha is in fact scared of a girl.”   
Sasuke quickly faced him, a dark glare on his face as Naruto continues to laugh. ‘It's not funny, moron. She's….something else.’  
Naruto's laughter died down and he shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t see what the big deal is, you deal with Karin, what makes this Sakura girl any worse?”  
Sasuke didn’t have time to answer as a knock came from the window and the two boys jumped, not expecting to see a glaring Ino gesturing at them.  
“Come on, don’t worry, I'll protect you from the big, bad, Sakura.” Naruto snickered at the look he received from Sasuke and followed him inside the diner.  
They headed to the back and easily spotted the rest of their group.  
As they sat down, a waitress came up to them, she had a cute face and shoulder length green eyes. “Hey everyone!” She greeted. Her eyes stopped at Naruto and Sasuke and her eyes grew wide and she took a step back with a gasp. “S-sasuke?”  
Naruto raised an eyebrow in curiosity and turned to face the raven who looked like he became five shades paler.   
“Yeah can you believe it?” Kiba threw an arm around Naruto's shoulder. “It's all thanks to blondie!”  
She turned to look at Naruto, eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”  
“Naruto Uzumaki! I'm Sasuke's caretaker. You must be the lovely Sakura.” Naruto flashed her a bright smile.  
“And how do you know my name?”  
Naruto blinked at her owlishly before gesturing to Sasuke. “He told me about you.” There was a sudden pain in his side and he hissed as he glared at Sasuke who was sneering at him. He stuck out his tongue and turned to face Sakura, her eyes were wide and mouth slightly agape.  
“S-sasuke talked about me?” Sakura looked at him hopefully and Naruto nodded. There was a loud squeal and both Kiba and Suigetsu covered their ears at the sound.  
“Oh boy, here we go.” Ino rolled her eyes and closed the menu with a huff, resting her head on top of her fist.  
“What? Did I say something bad?”  
“Yes.” Kiba and Suigetsu said at the same time.  
“Move over, four eyes, I need to sit next to my boyfriend.” Sakura huffed at Karin who glared at her and scooted her chair closer to Sasuke.  
“You don’t need to sit at all, you're working! And he's not your boyfriend, he's mine!” Karin tried to lean on to Sasuke only to almost fall off her chair as she realized he scooted his own chair closer to Naruto.  
“Don't make me laugh! He doesn’t want to date a crazy psycho bitch like you! And besides, you're not the one he's talking about to his friends now is he!”  
Karin stood up to glare at her. “He's probably telling him about how ugly and desperate you are. At least I can use my craziness as an excuse, what's yours?” She crossed her arms over her chest and smirked.  
Sakura growled at her, fists clenched at her sides. “You stupid, little, slut!”  
Naruto watched in awe as the argument started to escalate and he looked around the table to see Ino on her phone and Kiba and Suigetsu arm wrestling. He turned to face Sasuke, eyes slightly wide in fear.  
‘I told you I didn't want to go. Let's leave.’ Sasuke stood up and Naruto silently nodded, unsure of how to respond to the situation.  
“Um, we're gonna go guys. See you Wednesday!” Naruto quickly said as he began to follow Sasuke out of the diner.  
“Look you pink-headed freak, you scared him off!” Naruto shuddered as the door closed behind him and Karin’s final words reached his ears.  
“Holy shit, man. That was crazy.” Naruto started to laugh as he started the car as Sasuke got in.  
Sasuke shook his head before looking out the window for the rest of the car ride.  
They reached the mansion about half an hour later and quietly walked into the house.  
“So what do you want for dinner?” Naruto asked, taking off his shoes and placing them to the side.  
Sasuke shrugged as he took off his own shoes hurriedly, beginning to go up the stairs.  
“Wait a minute!” He grabbed Sasuke's arm to stop him. “Just tell me what you want.”  
Sasuke roughly jerked his arm out of Naruto’s grip and turned to face him with a scowl. ‘I don't care.’  
Naruto gave him a confused look. “What's wrong with you?”  
‘I told you I didn't want to go but you made me go anyways. This shit happens all the time with those two. I don’t like dealing with those annoyances.’ He glared down at Naruto who's eyes also were narrowed in a glare.  
“Well you stupid asshole, maybe if you tried to tell me what's going on in your life instead of acting like a big scaredy cat all the time, I would've known and then maybe we could've done something about it. And for another thing, you need to get out more and I took the opportunity to try and get you to make friends.”  
‘I don't need any fucking friends, you dumb idiot. I've never needed anybody but myself.’  
Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. “And look where that got you, hm?” Sasuke stiffened and Naruto took a step up. “It's not healthy to keep everything inside, Sasuke. I'm just trying to help you out, okay?”  
‘I don't need your fucking help either. Just leave me the fuck alone, and stay out of my life.’ Sasuke turned around and headed back up the stairs.  
Naruto watched in concern at Sasuke's retreating form and continued to stare until he heard the slam of Sasuke's door. He let out a sigh before turning around. He gasped in surprise as he saw Itachi standing at the bottom of the steps, a look of indifference set upon his face. “How much did you hear?”  
“Pretty much all of it.”  
Naruto let out a defeated sigh and hung his head down. “I didn’t mean for things to get out of hands like that. I'm sorry. If you're willing to still give me a chance, I'll try not to upset him again.”  
Itachi’s eyes widen a bit in surprise but he quickly collected himself just as Naruto looked back up to him. “Do you think I'm going to fire you?”  
Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “Kinda? I mean I really upset him, not on purpose of course! But-”  
Itachi let out a chuckle and put his hand up to stop him. “Listen, I'm not mad or anything. This is honestly the most emotion I've seen out of Sasuke since before the accident. Like you said, it's not healthy for him to keep everything bottled up. I'm just glad he's getting some of those pent up feelings out. As long as he doesn't try to commit suicide again, I have no reason to fire you over him getting upset because of something you did.”  
Naruto smiled at him and gave him a nod. “Thank you.”


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto woke up Tuesday morning and knocked on Sasuke’s door. “I’m coming in to check in, just be decent. Or don’t, I don’t mind either way.” He said with a smirk. He opened the door to see Sasuke still asleep, sleeping on his side, hands tucked underneath his pillow, his blanket covering the lower half of his body, leaving his bare chest exposed.  
Naruto blushed as he continued to stare at Sasuke’s sleeping form. He shook his head and slapped a hand on his cheek. “Get it together, Naruto. He’s just a guy. And an asshole. So what if he has a good body?” A cough interrupted him and he stood rigid, looking down at Sasuke who was now sitting up slightly, raising an eyebrow at Naruto. “O-oh, h-hey Sasuke, uh, what’s up?”  
Sasuke didn’t make a move, instead deciding to continue to stare at the blonde.  
“O-okay. I’m going to make breakfast. Okay? Okay!” He quickly ran out of the room and into the hallway where he let out a breath. “Fuck, man.” He let out a laugh as he ran his hand through his hair and went down the stairs.  
He entered the kitchen and began to prepare a simple meal of eggs and toast.  
As he was about to serve up the food, the doorbell rang, the chime ringing throughout the house.  
Naruto looked up from his cooking, confused. “Wonder who that is.” He pondered out loud. He made sure to turn off the stove before going to the front door.  
He opened the door to see Sakura. His eyes widened in surprised. “Um, hello. Why are y-”  
“Who the hell are you?” She quickly interrupted him, raising an eyebrow.  
Naruto felt himself stare at her in disbelief. “We literally met yesterday. At the diner?” She was still staring at him and he let out a sigh. “I'm Sasuke's caretaker?” Still no response. “He told me about you beforehand?”  
“Oh! I remember you Narudo!”  
“Naruto.”  
“Right. That's what I said.” She gave a flip of her hair and an eye roll. “Anyways, is Sasuke here?”  
Naruto leaned casually against the doorframe, crossing his arms across his chest. “Yeah but I don't think it's a good idea for you to see him.”  
She scoffed at him, narrowing her eyes in a glare. “Why not? You're not the boss of him!”  
Naruto gave her a glare back. “I am literally his caretaker. I'm supposed to look out for his health and you just don’t seem good for him, mentally.”  
She let out a laugh. “I'm not good for him? And how do you determine that? What makes you believe that I'm not good for him?”  
“I mean for one thing, he gets stressed out whenever he's around you and for two,” he gave her a mocking smile. “He doesn’t like you and never will.”  
There was silence from the pinkette as she glared at the blonde. Finally, she gave him a smirk. “I see now. You like him, don't you? And not just as a friend.”   
Naruto cheeks darkened. “N-no that's not it! You're just obsessed with him and it's not healthy for him or even you for that matter!”  
“Mhm. Whatever you say. Just know this, Naro, stay away from my Sasuke.” She took a step closer and poked the blonde in the chest. “He's not gay like you. Besides, even if he was, you’re nothing to sneeze at.” She took a step back with a smirk and looked up at the house. “You may stop me from seeing him here, but it's a whole big world out there and you can't protect him forever.” She smiled sweetly at him and waved. “Bye for now, Nato!”  
“It's Naruto you crazy bitch!” Naruto shouted after her as she walked to her car that was parked in the street. He glared as the car drove down the street before stepping back inside and slamming the door with a growl. He rested his head on the cool door before letting out a sigh and turning around.  
He let out a yelp as he saw Sasuke casually sitting on the bottom step, a small smirk on his face. He gave the raven a glare. “There’s breakfast on the stove. If you want you can have it. I'm taking a shower, I trust you won't try to kill yourself while I do that.”  
Sasuke gave him a frown and Naruto walked past him and up the stairs, heading for the bathroom.

After Naruto calmed down from his shower, he headed back down the stairs and into the kitchen. Sitting on the island was a prepared plate of the food he cooked earlier. He noticed that the pans were already washed and sitting in the dish rack to dry. Naruto smiled slightly as he sat down and began to eat.  
Once he was finished, he cleaned his plate and decided to look for Sasuke.   
The first place he checked was Sasuke's own room, but when he knocked on the door and opened it, the room was empty, the computer turned off. He frowned at the room before heading into their shared bathroom. The door was unlocked and the room empty.  
Naruto scratched his head in confusion. Besides his room, Naruto had no idea where else the raven liked to be. He remembered Itachi saying the third floor doesn't get used since their parents’ death. He sighed before deciding to look downstairs.  
He began to head into the kitchen when he stopped to look in the living room. He noticed the back of Sasuke’s head at the bay window and he let out a breath of relief. He walked closer and carefully studied him.  
Sasuke had his legs propped up, book resting on his knees as he casually had his head resting in his hand, his arm propped on the window sill. There was a small smile on his face as his eyes roamed the pages.  
“You should smile more often, it looks good on you.” Naruto spoke up after watching the raven for some time.  
Sasuke looked up from his book, his eyes widened in surprise. He stared at the blonde before frowning and marking his page in his book. ‘Can we talk?’ He signed after placing his book on the window sill.  
Naruto sat in a chair before shrugging his shoulders. “I guess. What do you want to talk about?”  
‘What Sakura said.’  
Naruto gave him a scowl. “You were right about one thing, she is crazy. I think I'd rather hang out with Karin all day than her for an hour.” He let out a sigh as he threw his head back. “So what about what she said?”  
‘Are you gay? Do you like me?’  
Naruto glared at him. “I don’t see why you actually listen to her.”  
‘So then you're not gay.’  
“I didn’t say that.”  
Sasuke stared at the blonde blankly and Naruto fidgeted under his gaze.  
“Okay, I am gay. And sure, I might think you're hot and sexy, and okay maybe I can admit I've had a couple fantasies about you, but that doesn't-” He was cut off by Sasuke's lips on his own. His eyes widened in shock at how Sasuke managed to get in front of him without him noticing. He slowly closed his eyes and began to tentatively kiss back.  
Sasuke broke the kiss and stared at Naruto. The blonde blushed and turned his face away. “Uh, so what was that for?”  
‘Just wanted to see what it was like.’  
Naruto looked up at him in shock. “S-so you don't have any feelings for me or anything?”  
The raven just gave him a smirk before going back to his place at the bay window, picking up his book.  
“Bastard.”


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto spent the rest of the afternoon practically avoiding Sasuke. Every hour he'd come down from his room and double check that Sasuke was okay. Once that was done, he'd quickly go back into his room and think about what happened.  
He sat down on his bed, sheets and blanket messily splayed on top. He sighed loudly before throwing himself down, looking up to the ceiling.  
A knock came from his door and he looked up in confusion. “Come in?”  
Sasuke walked through the door and stood in front of the blonde. ‘You've been ignoring me.’  
Naruto laughed nervously. “Ignoring you? I don't know what you're talking about!”  
Sasuke gave him a pointed look. ‘Normally you're bugging me all day. Is it because I kissed you?’  
“Pfft!” Naruto waved his hand and laughed loudly, causing Sasuke to flinch at the noise. “Bastard. I'm not afraid of no kiss! Or you. After yesterday, I just thought you'd need some space is all.” He rubbed the back of his head before letting out a sigh. “What was that kiss anyways?”  
Sasuke walked over and sat on the bed, pushing himself up against the wall. Naruto followed his actions, sitting next to him. ‘I just wanted to kiss you. I've only ever kissed girls before and I figured if Sakura said was true, you wouldn't have minded.’  
Naruto glared at him. “Did you ever think that if what Sakura said was true, then I would mind?”  
Sasuke shook his head and raised an eyebrow in confusion.  
Naruto rolled his eyes. “If I liked you and you kiss me, it would fuel my feelings, make sense?” A nod. “Okay, so if you're saying that kiss means nothing to you and you just wanted to try it because you've never done it before, you’re pretty much saying you're using me. And that hurts. See what I'm saying?”  
‘So you do like me?’  
Naruto gave him a blank stare before letting out a frustrated breath. “Are you even listening to what I'm saying?”  
Sasuke gave him a small shrug. ‘I hurt you by kissing you since you like me.’  
Naruto glared at him. “Yeah. So now do you understand why I've been avoiding you? Cause you're an asshole.”  
Sasuke stared at Naruto, staying still. Naruto fidgeted under his gaze.  
“What are you looking at, asshole?” Naruto stuck out his tongue at the raven who in turn raised an eyebrow.  
‘You. Just thinking about what else we can do together.’  
Naruto bristled before turning a dark red. “What the fuck are you talking about?! You're not even gay nor do you like me!”  
‘I never said that.’  
Naruto stood still, shocked from what he just saw. He visibly relaxed and sent Sasuke a curious gaze. “Oh so you like me?”  
Sasuke gave him a smirk. ‘I never said that either.’  
Naruto growled and pulled at his hair in frustration. He glared back at the raven. “You're getting on my nerves, Uchiha. Just say what you mean!”  
‘I just want you to know,’ Sasuke climbed off the bed and stood in front it, his back facing Naruto. He stretched before turning around with a bored look on his face. ‘I wouldn't mind doing more than just kissing with you.’ He left the room, leaving the blonde to sigh defeatedly.

Naruto was just finishing dinner when Itachi walked into the kitchen from the garage entrance. “Oh hey, Itachi. I just finished dinner so it'll be ready in a few minutes.”  
“Oh?” Itachi looked at the pots on the stove and raised an eyebrow. “I thought you couldn't cook?”  
“Yeah, I was telling the bastard a story about how I use to eat goulash and he said he never had it before.” Naruto let out a laugh. “Can you believe that?”  
Itachi stared at him until his laughter turned into nervous coughing. “I've never had it either.”  
Naruto gaped at him. “What?!”  
“I just used my mom's cookbook to learn how to cook, but we mostly ate take-out anyways.”  
Naruto shook his head. “Well, good thing I'm here to teach you guys the good stuff.”  
“Speaking of which,” Itachi casually leaned his hip against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “How was your day with Sasuke?”  
Many emotions flickered on Naruto's face as he recalled the day. He settled on keeping his face as blank as possible. “It was okay.”  
Itachi raised an eyebrow. “Just okay?”  
Naruto scowled. “Yeah.”  
Itachi wanted to press on further but Sasuke chose to walk in, hopping onto a seat at the island.  
Naruto gave him a glare and placed his hands on his hips. “No. Go set the table.”  
Sasuke stared at him and Itachi stared wide-eyed at Naruto. The room was silent until Sasuke sighed in annoyance and rolled his eyes, getting off the chair.  
“That’s what I thought.” Naruto continued to glare at him until Sasuke left to set the table. “Stupid lazy bastard.”  
Itachi chuckled. “Well, I can see now it was a good choice in hiring you.” He gently tapped the counter. “I'm going to go change and then I'll be right down.” He left the room.  
Once everyone was seated at the table, the three of them began to eat.  
“So Sasuke, how was everything today?” Itachi asked curious as to the reason for Naruto's reaction earlier.  
Sasuke shrugged. ‘Fine.’  
“Anything special happen?”  
‘Sakura came over.’  
Naruto coughed, lightly hitting his chest. Itachi looked at him, an eyebrow raised. He then turned to face Sasuke. “Who's Sakura?”  
‘The pink-headed girl.’  
Itachi shivered. “Why?”  
Sasuke shrugged. ‘Ask Naruto.’  
“Itachi, how's the food? You like it?” Naruto tried to change the subject.  
Itachi nodded. “This is actually pretty good.” He took a bite. “So what did Sakura want?”  
Naruto looked away before nervously laughing. “Nothing really. We left early yesterday, she probably just wanted to catch up with us more.”  
“Hm, is that so?” Itachi asked in a bored tone.  
‘Not really.’ Sasuke grunted as Naruto kicked him from underneath the table.  
Itachi gave Sasuke a smirk. “Go on Sasuke, I'm curious to know why she was there.”  
‘I don't know why she was there. But I'm pretty sure she's jealous of Naruto.’ Sasuke winked at Naruto and he glared back. ‘But I mean I did kiss him, so there is reasoning behind it.’  
Naruto let out a short scream before throwing his head onto the table. The two brothers looked at him, mildly concerned.  
Itachi coughed once when Naruto made no indication that he was going to move. He turned to face Sasuke. “You kissed Naruto?”  
Sasuke nodded his head. ‘Yeah. Just wanted to see what it was like.’  
“And how was it?”  
Naruto sat up suddenly and the two brothers once again looked at him, both in surprise. Naruto stood up, pushing the chair back causing it to tip. He quickly caught it before stepping behind it. “Well, dinner was great thank you. I mean I made it but, yeah, okay. So um, I'm going to excuse myself and yeah. Bye!” He quickly left the room.  
‘He lectured me about feelings afterwards.’ Sasuke rolled his eyes.  
Itachi shrugged. “He should. You can't always get away with everything.”  
Sasuke scowled at his plate.  
“Though I do have to say, ever since he got here, you've been more lively.” Itachi stood up and patted Sasuke's arm. “Thanks for taking care of the dishes.” He smiled down at his little brother. Sasuke gave him the finger and he laughed as he walked out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Wednesday morning, Naruto woke up to his alarm. He yawned before sitting up and stretching. He reluctantly went into the bathroom and knocked on Sasuke's bedroom door. “You up yet, bastard?” When he heard no noise he sighed before opening the door.

He was surprised to find the room empty, the bed made up lazily. He left the room and headed down the stairs to start breakfast.

Once again, he was shocked to see the two Uchiha brothers sitting at the island, eating breakfast in complete silence.

“Uh, good morning?” Naruto finally greeted after getting over his surprise.

Both pairs of obsidian eyes turned and stared at him. He laughed nervously under their gazes.

Itachi gave him a smile. “Good morning, Naruto. I made some breakfast if you want some.”

Naruto turned to the stove and started walking towards it. He examined the food, which was eggs benedict, before grabbing a plate and serving himself. He set his plate on the island across from Sasuke. “Not that I'm not grateful for breakfast or anything, but aren't you suppose to be at work?”

“I have some flex time and I just wanted to discuss the nature of your relationship with Sasuke before things get, complicated.”

Naruto’s face turned bright red and he nervously glanced at Sasuke, who was just eating his breakfast as if they were discussing the weather. Naruto brought his gaze back to Itachi and began to laugh nervously. “There’s nothing to discuss because there is no relationship! I'm just his caretaker, maybe friends at most but that's it, right Sasuke?”

Sasuke glanced at the blond then to his brother before shrugging and going back to his breakfast.

Itachi stared at the blond before lightly shaking his head. “Whatever the nature of the relationship is, or will be, I have no problems with it as long as you can still act as his caretaker without any special favors or overlooking anything serious. Sasuke can be kind of a manipulator and I wouldn't like to see you get hurt or lose your job because of it.” He gave him a smile as Sasuke glared at his older brother.

Naruto’s eyes widened at Itachi’s words and he glanced at Sasuke before standing up straight and giving Itachi a determined gaze. “You can count on me! I won't be easily duped I promise you.”

Itachi chuckled before standing up and placing his plate in the sink. “I don’t doubt it. Well, I'll be heading out now. See you two later.” He left the kitchen.

Naruto kept his eyes on the entryway to the kitchen until he heard the front door close. He slowly looked to Sasuke who was staring at him, still eating his food. He blushed under the gaze and glared at the raven. “What?”

Sasuke shook his head in response, still staring.

“You’re creeping me out. Knock it off.” Naruto began to eat his food, keeping his eyes locked onto his plate.

The two continued their breakfast in silence. As Naruto stood up to place his plate in the sink, he felt a tug at his sleeve. He looked down to see Sasuke casually leaning on the island. ‘I'm not as bad as my brother says I am.’

Naruto looked him over carefully before shrugging. “Whatever you say.”

‘I'm being serious, moron.’

Naruto rolled his eyes at the insult and took a step back. “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

The remark from the normally playful blonde left Sasuke a little shocked. He watched as Naruto went to the sink and began to wash his plate.

“I've got some stuff to do before we go to your therapy. So I'll be in my room if you need me.” Naruto waited for Sasuke to nod before heading up the stairs.

Naruto was lying sprawled on his bed, phone in his hand, when there was a knock on the door. “Come in.” He shouted.

The door opened and Sasuke casually walked in hands in his pocket. He stopped and stood next to Naruto’s bed, looking down at him.

Naruto raised an eyebrow without looking at him. “Can I help you?”

Without any type of warning, Sasuke pushed Naruto’s legs off the bed and climbed on, leaning against the wall.

“Bastard. You could've said something.” He glared as he sat up. The raven gave him a pointed look and Naruto rolled his eyes. “You knew exactly what I meant.” The two sat in an awkward silence, causing the blond to fidget nervously. “So uh,” he coughed lightly, clearing his throat. “Why did you come in here?”

‘Bored.’

Naruto glared at the raven. “Why couldn't you be bored in your own room?”

‘Because it's boring in there. Don't ask stupid questions.’

Naruto huffed. “I was doing something important.”

Sasuke gave him a smirk. ‘What, stalking an ex?’

The blonde’s face turned a bright red and he glared at the raven. “No! For your information-!” He stopped mid-sentence and shook his head. “Actually, it's none of your business.”

Sasuke watched him carefully before shrugging. He closed his eyes and relaxed further into the bed.

Naruto watched him carefully. “What's the real reason you're here?”

Sasuke kept his eyes closed before letting out a breath. He looked over at the blonde. ‘I just wanted to make sure everything between us is cool.’

Naruto raised a questioning eyebrow. “I guess.” He turned to look forward before turning back to face Sasuke, a big grin on his face. “Aw, Sasuke does care for me! See? You do love me!” He gave the raven a playful nudge. Sasuke gave him a scowl in return and Naruto began to laugh.

Sasuke felt the corner of his mouth twitching the longer he heard Naruto laugh.

“What's this?!” Naruto stopped his laughter abruptly and stared at Sasuke, eyes wide.

Sasuke blinked once in confusion before looking down at himself to see if there was anything out of place.

Naruto quickly grasped Sasuke’s arm, causing him to look into cerulean eyes. “Sasuke, I think,” he paused before smiling again. “I think you were smiling! Or trying too.” He began to laugh again and Sasuke let out an annoyed breath.

‘You're a moron.’

“Whatever you say, bastard!”

The two of them walked into the building that held group therapy and walked the same corridors.

When they reached the room, the only two people there were Karin and Ino. Karin instantly stood up straight, patting her hair down and smiled brightly at Sasuke. “Hey Sasuke! How are you?”

Sasuke ignored her, taking the seat next to Ino and immediately gestured to Naruto to sit down.

With a roll of his eyes, Naruto began to walk towards the chair until Kiba came running inside, crashing into Naruto.

“Oh shit! Sorry Naruto. Suigetsu tried bringing a cat in here. I had to get away from him.” He stood up and rubbed his head sheepishly. He held out his hand to Naruto who was sitting on the floor glaring at him. “You good?”

“I guess.” Naruto grumbled as he grabbed Kiba’s hand and stood up.

A laugh interrupted their conversation and everyone looked at Suigetsu who walked into the room. “Man, Kiba you should've seen your face!” He continued walking and sat in the empty seat next to Sasuke.

Sasuke gave him a glare and nudged him with his elbow.

Suigetsu stopped his laughing to look at him, an eyebrow raised in questioning. “What?”

Sasuke’s glare narrowed until he faced Naruto who was watching him with an amused smirk. ‘Get this idiot out of this chair and sit down.’

Naruto shook his head and snickered.

“What'd he say?” Kiba asked, leaning towards Naruto.

“He said he's excited that Suigetsu finally sat next to him. He's wanted to be friends with him since forever.” Naruto snickered.

Sasuke scowled at the blonde before an arm wrapped around his shoulder.

Suigetsu gave him a toothy grin. “Aw Sasuke, of course I'll be your friend! All you had to was ask!”

Sasuke rolled his eyes before throwing Suigetsu’s arm off of him.

Kiba and Naruto sat down, leaving one seat open for Kakashi. The group began to talk together, waiting for the silver haired man.

“He’s late.” Naruto muttered after some time.

“Yeah, he's normally late.” Ino commented.

“Worry not, I am here now!” Kakashi appeared in the doorway, his hands in his pockets and his eyes closed in a wide grin. “I was just helping our art instructor getting his supplies out of his car.”

“Art instructor?” Naruto questioned the room.

“Every Wednesday we do art therapy together.” Karin answered.

“Oh.” Naruto blinked once before smiling. “Cool!”

“Kakashi, I thought when you said you'd help me take out my supplies from the car, you'd help bring them inside too.” A voice said from the hallway.

“That voice sounds familiar.” Naruto mumbled to himself, his eyebrows scrunched in thought.

“What'd you say?” Kiba quickly turned to face him.

“Nothing!” Naruro replied. He looked up and towards the doorway as a pale man with short, dark hair walked into the room. His eyes went wide as he made contact with dark eyes.

Kakashi put a hand on the man’s shoulder and looked towards the room.“Naruto, this is our art instructor-”

“Sai.” Naruto finished the sentence for him. “Long time no see.”

The man, Sai, gave Naruto a small grin. “Indeed.”

The group stared at Naruto as the blonde continued to stare at Sai.

“Okay, what is going on?” Ino asked as the room became quiet.

“Why don't you tell your friends, dickless?” Sai’s smile grew as he cocked his head to the side.

Naruto growled at the nickname before he turned to face Ino. “Sai’s my ex boyfriend.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Alright guys, let's help set up the easels and get started, yeah?” Kakashi clapped his hands, trying to get the attention of the room who had their eyes focused on Sai and Naruto.

“Wait a minute!” Ino put her hand up towards Kakashi. “I need to know more about this!”

“There's nothing more to tell.” Naruto glared at her. “He's my ex and that's it.” He stepped aside and walked towards Kakashi. He grabbed an easel and walked towards the back of the room where he began to set up.

Sasuke was the first to get over his shock and soon followed after the blonde and set up his own easel relatively close.

The rest of the group gave each other weary looks before setting up their own easels throughout the room.

“So everyone, today the theme of your painting is going to be emotion.” Sai clapped his hands together and looked around the room. “You can pick any emotion you want. The goal of this painting is for us to see it and guess which emotion you're trying to express. Now, go ahead and get started.”

“What emotion are you doing?” Naruto asked Sasuke dully.

Sasuke gave him a shrug. ‘I don't know, apathy?’

Naruto snorted. “Of course.” He dipped his brush into the purple paint.

With a roll of his eyes, Sasuke dipped his own brush into the black paint. ‘What about you? Something stupid like joy?’

“Shut up, asshole.” Naruto glared at him before turning to his canvas and giving it a sad smile. “I was maybe thinking nostalgia.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened slightly. ‘I didn't even know you knew that word, let alone what it means.’

Naruto sucked his teeth but otherwise ignored the raven. Sasuke gave him a smirk before turning back to his own painting.

“Naruto.” Naruto looked up from his painting to see Sai standing next to him, a smile on his face.

“What Sai?” He let out a sigh before turning back to his painting.

“Just wanted to know what you're working on.” He bent down and gave a quick glance over Naruto’s shoulder. “Also I wanted to know how you've been.”

“I'm working on a painting. And I've been just fine, thank you very much.” He gave him a big, fake smile.

Sasuke tapped Naruto on the shoulder opposite from where Sai was standing. ‘Tell him to fuck off and leave you alone.’

Naruto rolled his eyes but otherwise ignored Sasuke. He turned back to Sai who was staring at Sasuke intently. “What do you want, Sai?”

Sai slowly turned his gaze to Naruto and gave him a smile. “Is he your new boyfriend?”

‘Tell him yes. He'll leave us alone.’ Sasuke quickly interrupted before Naruto could speak.

Naruto glared at Sasuke. “Shut up.” He practically hissed. He turned to Sai. “No. He's not.”

“So who is he to you?” Sai’s smile seemed to grow wider.

‘It's not too late to go back on the boyfriend idea.’

Naruto let out a growl as he turned to Sasuke. “Knock it off and butt out.” He once again turned to Sai. “Not like its any of your business,” he replied through clenched teeth. “But I'm his caretaker. Now, what. Do. You. Want?”

“Well, since he's not really giving the two of us any privacy,” his smile faltered as he glanced at Sasuke. “So what do you think about getting some drinks tonight and catching up for old times sake?”

‘Don't go anywhere with this asshole, Naruto. Tell him to eat shit.’ Sasuke glared at the raven man.

Naruto rolled his eyes at Sasuke’s comment. “Sai, you know damn well I'm not old enough to get drinks.”

“But what about your dad’s ID? You two look almost identical and you've used it before.”

Sasuke looked at Naruto, confused. ‘You're dad? But I thought you were an orphan?’

Naruto chose to once again ignore Sasuke. “That's not me anymore, Sai.” He sighed, looking at his painting sadly. “Please just leave me alone.”

Sai watched the blonde carefully before standing up straight. “Alright. If you change your mind about tonight, you know where to find me.”

Naruto and Sasuke both watched Sai walk away to go check up on Kiba and Suigetsu.

‘So, care to explain any of that to me?’ Sasuke asked after some time of silence.

“Just drop it, Sasuke.” Naruto looked at him tiredly before going back to his own painting.

The next thirty minutes were spent in silence between the two boys. Kakashi clapped his hands, grabbing everyone's attention in the room. “Alright guys, I hope that was enough time for everyone to finish their paintings! Now we're each going to show each other's paintings and guess which emotion that person painted.” His eyes closed, curving up to show he was smiling.

“Is there any prize for whoever guesses right? Or if someone's painting stumps everyone?” Kiba asked excitedly.

Sai, who was standing next to Kakashi, smiled at him. “No prize, but just the knowledge that you are good at detecting emotions.”

Kiba pouted, crossing his arms over his chest and mumbling under his breath.

“So who wants to go first?” Kakashi asked the room. Sai walked over to Naruto and sat down in a chair next to him, opposite Sasuke.

Sasuke sneered at the raven as he whispered into the blonde’s ear causing him to snort.

“I will!” Karin lifted up her hand. “Though to be honest, I didn't realize we would be showing everyone our paintings.” She walked over to where Kakashi was standing and placed her canvas on the empty easel.

As soon as everyone was able to see it, Kiba and Suigetsu, began to laugh. Karin’s cheeks turned bright red as she glared at the two boys. Sasuke looked at the painting with mild horror as Ino shook her head in disappointment. 

“Let me guess,” Kiba finally gasped out after laughing. “You chose crazy?”

“No you stupid mutt-lover!” Karin stomped her foot angrily.

“Love.” Sai quickly spoke up.

Besides Naruto and Sasuke, the rest of them looked at him in surprise.

“How does a badly done painting of Sasuke equal love?” Suigetsu looked at him as if he grew a second head.

“Its obvious that Karin has feelings for Sasuke.” Sai pointed out and immediately, Karin’s face darkened. “The painting is also painted with red and pink hues in the background. And since she doesn't seem to angry with Sasuke, the only logical choice would be love.”

Naruto looked at him, surprised. “I'm impressed. You've come a long way since high school when you could barely tell the difference from happiness and sadness.”

Sai gave him a bright smile. “It's amazing how much you can learn from college.”

Sasuke scowled at Sai. ‘It should be common knowledge to read at least basic emotions. What an idiot.’

Naruto glared at the raven. ‘Why do you have to be an asshole all the time? He's doing pretty good for himself and that's all that matters. Quit ragging on the guy, you don't even know him.’ He huffed in his seat and faced the front where Kiba was walking up with his painting.

Kiba loudly set his painting on the easel and faced the room with a toothy grin. “Alright guys, go ahead and guess!” He laughed haughtily. “If you can that is.”

“Excitement.” Ino replied nonchalantly.

Kiba gave her a look of disbelief. “How did you-?”

She rolled her eyes before crossing her arms over her chest. “You painted your dog, Akamaru. And he looks like he's wagging his tail. It was the first thought that came to my head.”

Kiba began to mumble under his breath as he stomped his way back to his seat.

Ino stood up after him, her canvas in her hand. As she set the painting on the easel, she turned to face the room and shyly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“That's really good, Ino.” Sai praised her.

“Thank you.” She blushed. “It's a self portrait of how I want to see myself.”

“Oh!” Karin excitedly spoke up. “Strength!”

Ino shook her head. “No, but you're close.”

“Confidence.” Naruto spoke up.

Ino smiled brightly at him and nodded. “You got it!”

Sai grabbed Naruto’s arm and squeezed it gently. “Good job.”

Naruto blushed at the contact and rubbed the area that Sai touched him. Sasuke watched the pair with narrowed eyes until Suigetsu came up with his own canvas.

“Water!” Kiba immediately shouted as he saw the painting.

Suigetsu stared at him blankly. “No shit, Sherlock. But just in case you weren't informed, water is not an emotion.”

Sasuke elbowed Naruto to get his attention.

Naruto quickly turned his head and glared. “What?” He practically hissed.

‘Serenity.’

Naruto looked at him, shocked. He turned to look at Suigetsu then nervously cleared his throat. “Sasuke guesses serenity.”

Suigetsu blinked once before sucking his teeth and glaring. “I thought it would be a lot harder than that.” He took his painting and sat down in his seat.

“Nice one, Sasuke.” Naruto gave him a cheeky grin before standing up and setting his own canvas onto the easel for everyone to see.

Naruto’s painting wasn't anything specific, just a mix of different shades of blue and purples swirled in an intricate design.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto. ‘This painting doesn't seem like its nostalgia.’

Naruto gave Sasuke a smirk. “That's because it's not nostalgia, Sasuke. But nice guess.”

The room was quiet as everyone thought about what Naruto's painting represented.

“Melancholy.” Sai finally replied with a sad smile.

The rest of the room looked at him with confused faces, except for Sasuke who sneered, crossing his arms over his chest.

Naruto nodded and returned a sad smile. “You got it.” He reached for his painting but Ino quickly raised her hand. “Yeah Ino?”

“I don't want to seem rude but,” she nervously looked towards Sai. “But how did you get that from just a pattern?”

Sai gave her a warm smile. “Well besides the fact that I know Naruto and it's easy for me to read him,” he winked at Naruto who blushed in return. “I could mostly tell by the colors. I can see at first, Naruto used light shades of blues and purples, which would've been good for Sasuke’s guess of nostalgia. But as he painted longer, the shades get darker and darker, some even looking black which brings about a sadder tone.”

“Oh, okay, I get it.” Ino nodded.

Naruto grabbed his painting and sat down in his seat.

“Nice work. I'll take it if you don’t want it.” Sai smiled at Naruto.

Naruto smiled sadly at the painting before shaking his head. “No, I think I'll keep it. I need to decorate my room anyways.”

Sasuke walked up to the front of the room and set his painting on the easel and stuffed his hands in his pocket.

“I thought you were supposed to be painting apathy?” Naruto asked with a smirk.

‘Guess we both had our own surprises.’ Sasuke retorted.

“Hey!” Kiba pointed an accusatory finger at Naruto, then Sasuke. “You two are cheating! You told each other what you were going to paint!”

Both Sasuke and Naruto rolled their eyes. “And how well did that work, Kiba? Since neither of us painted what we said we were going to do.” Naruto raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh. You're right.”

Karin stood up and cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention. “It's jealousy.” Everyone's eye's widened at her answer and Naruto immediately looked to Sasuke who nodded.

“How did you know that?” Ino asked looking at the painting carefully. “If anything I would've guessed anger. The red eyes looked narrowed in anger.”

Karin tilted her head. “I would agree except for the swirls of green surrounding it. Green is usually the color of envy. The red is the anger that comes with the jealousy.”

“Nice analyzing, Karin.” Sai complimented as Sasuke sat down.

“Its probably because she's jealous all the time that it just came easily to her.” Suigetsu said with a snicker.

Karin was about to say something until Kakashi stood up. “Either way, it's good for her to be able to see someone else's emotions. Good job, Karin.” He clapped his hands together and smiled. “That's all the time we have for today, I'll see everyone on Friday!”

The room began to disperse. Naruto stopped Sasuke before he left the room. “Here, wait in the car. I'm going to help Sai.” Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he watched Naruto smile at the raven.

Sai began to walk towards him and Sasuke’s glare narrowed. ‘Don't be so jealous, Sasuke.’ Sasuke’s eyes widened as he watched Sai sign. ‘Naruto wasn't even yours to begin with. No matter what his feelings are, they'll never be as strong as they were for me. Better to just give up before you get hurt.’ He gave a nasty smirk to Sasuke as Sasuke flipped him off.

“Sasuke!” Naruto scolded. “Why are you being so rude today? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?”

Sasuke sneered as Sai smiled sweetly in front of Naruto. ‘Just hurry up, Naruto.’ He walked out of the room and to the car.

“Sorry about him. He doesn't like anyone though, really.” Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

Sai smiled at him. “Its okay. You can't control him so it's not like I can blame you anyways.” They reached Sai’s car and Naruto helped him load up the easels. “Thanks for helping me out. And I really hope I see you tonight.” He leaned down and captured Naruto's lips in a kiss.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise and he stared at Sai, shocked, not kissing him back.

Sai pulled away with a half lidded smile. “Bye Naruto.”

“Uh, b-bye.” Naruto turned and started to walk to his car, he gently touched his lips and tried to hide a smile.

When he got into the car, Sasuke glared at him. He narrowed his own cerulean eyes at the raven. “What?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked out the opposite window.

At first, the pair was quiet. Silence filled the car ride until Naruto was stopped at a red light. He turned to look at Sasuke who was still staring out the window. “So uh, why'd you change your painting to jealousy?”

Sasuke didn't move, continuing to stare out the window. Naruto let out a sigh and turned to look at the light.

Sasuke tapped his shoulder and Naruto turned to look. ‘Only if you tell me why you changed yours.’

Naruto blinked before smiling widely. “Alright. But you tell me yours first.”

‘I just feel envious over people.’ He paused, taking in Naruto's reaction. Naruto stayed silent as he continued to drive and waited for Sasuke to continue. ‘I'm jealous that people are brave enough to say what's on their mind while I'm stuck staying silent.’

Naruto nodded once. “You know, you could always try to actually speak.” He gave him a cheeky grin.

Sasuke gave him a pointed look before rolling his eyes. ‘Alright. Now tell me your reasoning.’

“I first decided nostalgia as soon as Sai gave us the task. But the more I thought about the past, the sadder I got. And then I decided instead of wallowing in my sadness, I'll change my emotion.”

‘Why did you and Sai breakup anyways?’

Naruto snorted. “There were many reasons to be honest. I was too emotional while he was emotionless, so lots of misunderstandings. I was also a bad influence on him, getting him into trouble. Ultimately, he broke up with me because he wanted to go to college and I was holding him back. Or so he said.” Naruto sighed sadly. “But I found out he was cheating on me anyways.”

Sasuke stared at him, slightly wide-eyed. He stared in disbelief as Naruto kept his gaze to the road. ‘I knew that guy was an asshole.’

Naruto glanced at him briefly before sucking his teeth. “You don’t even know him. Not then and not now. Don’t judge him. I’ve changed a lot since then and so has he, I can tell.” They reached the mansion and Naruto parked his car in the driveway and the two of them walked into the house.

‘That’s fucking bullshit, Naruto.’ Sasuke sneered at him as he followed him into the kitchen. ‘People never change. Are you really telling me you’re going to let him walk back into your life?’

Naruto stopped and glared at Sasuke from across the island. “Why do you even care? You made it perfectly clear that you aren’t interested in me so why do you need to be up in my business? And people can change Sasuke, just because you haven’t been able to get over your parents death for five fucking years doesn’t mean everyone is like you!” Naruto instantly regretted his words as he saw a look of shock flash across Sasuke’s face. The anger he felt earlier left him quickly. “Look, I’m sorry Sas-”

Sasuke quickly cut him off with a lifted hand, his eyes narrowed in fury. ‘You want to know why I want to make it my business? Because you are my caretaker. You’re not supposed to be whoring yourself out to the first ex that walks past you with a flirty gaze. And for all I know, you could’ve never changed either, it’s only been three days. You’re probably still the orphan trash that you’ve always been.’ The words hit Naruto hard and he looked on at Sasuke in horror as Sasuke gave him a superior smirk.

Naruto looked on to the floor. “You know Sasuke, you shouldn’t judge me like that for being an orphan.” He started to walk out of the kitchen. When he reached the doorway, he turned to face Sasuke, a stray tear falling from his eye. “Especially since you’re one too.” With those words, he left Sasuke alone.

Sasuke stared at the spot where Naruto once was, dumbfounded. The sound of the front door slamming brought him out of his thoughts and he stomped his way to his bedroom. He slammed the door angrily and went to his computer where he turned up the volume and turned the volume up until he could drown out his own thoughts.

It was a few hours later when Itachi stormed into Sasuke’s room, angry at the volume of the music. He saw Sasuke working on his tablet. He came up to him and spun the chair so that he was facing him. “Turn it the fuck down, Sasuke!” He shouted at his little brother.

Sasuke gave him a sneer before pausing his music. He turned back to face Itachi and gave him a bored look.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? And where the hell is Naruto?” Itachi glared down at him.

Sasuke casually shrugged and turned back to his computer.

“No.Look at me, Sasuke.” He waited until Sasuke turned back around. “Where is Naruto?”

‘I don’t know, Itachi.’

“What do you mean you don’t know?” He looked at him confused.

‘I mean I don’t know. He left earlier and hasn’t come back since.’

“Why did he leave?”

Sasuke didn’t say anything, looking to the side.

“Sasuke.” Itachi gave him a stern look.

‘We got in an argument.’ Sasuke sighed and looked up to his brother. ‘I may have gone too far.’

Itachi shook his head. “Alright, well, let’s just call him to see what’s going on and when he’ll be back.”

Sasuke nodded and followed Itachi downstairs and into the kitchen where the home phone was. Itachi quickly punched in some numbers while Sasuke lazily sat in the island bar chair.

Itachi waited until he got Naruto’s voicemail. He frowned as the message played. “Uh, hi Naruto. It’s me Itachi, just wondering when you’re coming back. Give me a call when you can.” He hung up the phone and looked to Sasuke. “Well, we’ll just wait for him to call. What even happened for him to leave like that?”

Sasuke sneered. ‘I called him orphan trash after he told me to get over mom and dad’s death.’

Itachi tsked while shaking his head. “Why were you even fighting in the first place? You couldn't have handled this more maturely?”

‘Why does it have to be my fault? Why can't he take the high road?’ Sasuke signed angrily.

“Because I know you and from what I can tell by Naruto, he wouldn't have said something unless he was provoked.” He said with a roll of his eyes. “Besides you never take the high road. You're stuck being a spoiled brat, but I'm partially to blame for that. So, what did you say to him to make him so upset?”

Sasuke didn't move, deciding to stare at the countertop instead. It was a few minutes later that he let out a sigh. ‘I was bothering him about hanging out with an ex.’

Itachi stared at his little brother until he began to fidget under his gaze. “Seriously? You upset him because you're fucking jealous? You were really willing to be so selfish as to upset him, possibly make him quit, all because you want to get in his fucking pants?” Itachi glared at him. “I don't fucking believe you. You're going to sit here until he calls back.” Itachi stormed out of the room and up the stairs.

Sasuke sat back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the phone.

It wasn't until nine, two hours later, that Itachi came back down the stairs and into the kitchen. He leaned against the doorway of the kitchen and looked at Sasuke. “Did he ever call, or even text your cell phone?”

Sasuke shook his head and looked tiredly back to his phone.

Itachi let out a sigh and pushed himself up. “I'll try calling again.” He dialed his phone number but was once again disappointed to get the blonde’s voicemail. He leaned onto the counter, holding his head. “What am I going to do?” He groaned.

Sasuke gently knocked on the table, getting his brother's attention. ‘We can try looking for him?’

Itachi raised an eyebrow. “You know where to find him?”

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders before giving his brother a smirk. ‘Not exactly but I think I have an idea.’


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto stormed out of the Uchiha's mansion, hurt by Sasuke's words. He walked to his car before shaking the idea, thinking that a walk will be better to clear his head instead of driving.

He made his way down the driveway and to the street, walking down until he reached the main road.

"Stupid, bastard." Naruto muttered out loud to himself as he walked on down the sidewalk. "Fucking, stupid, good-looking bastard!" He pinched the bridge of his nose as he fell the familiar sting of tears.

"It's not worth it, he doesn't deserve my tears." Naruto thought to himself as he let out a long breath, turning his head to the sky. "Why am I letting his words affect me so much? I've been called so much worse!" The tears that he was trying to hold back, finally fell from his eyes and he quickly wiped at them.

All of a sudden, he ran into someone. He wiped at his eyes once more. "Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention to where I was-" When he finally stopped wiping his eyes, he could see Sai was the person he ran into, a large smile on his face. "Sai? What are you doing here?"

"I can ask you the same thing." He carefully looked over the blonde. His eyes were red, and his cheeks stained with tear trails. "What's wrong?"

Naruto was surprised by the question but then changed his expression to one of indifference. "Why does something have to be wrong?"

"Because it looks like you were crying." He gave him a skeptical look. "Does it have anything to do with Sasuke?"

Naruto turned his head away at the name. He knew himself, and knew that it was easy to see what he was feeling. "So what if it does? Why do you give a fuck anyways!?"

"It's okay to be upset, but don't lash out at me." Sai scolded with a mildly amused expression. "Come on, I'll treat you to dinner and you can vent it all out."

Naruto studied Sai carefully before giving him a nod and a small smile.

Sai walked over to him and threw his arm around Naruto's neck. He guided them in the direction where Naruto waa going. "Still love Ichiraku's?"

"Of course I do!" He exclaimed happily.

Sai led them down the streets until they reached a small building, built in between two giant skyscrapers. He opened the door for the blonde before leading him to an empty table.

When the waitress approached, he took the liberty of ordering for himself and Naruto as well as some sake.

"You still remember my favorite dish?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Sai gave him a confused smile.

"Because of the fact that you cheated on me." He glared at the raven haired man.

"Naruto, about all th-"

Naruto quickly interrupted. "Look, I don't want to talk about that tonight. It's just going to end in an argument anyways. Tell me how you got good at reading people?"

"Well I'm a therapist. An art one, mind you, but still a therapist. So I had to learn or else I'd be a pretty shitty therapist, wouldn't I?" He laughed.

Naruto smiled sincerely before reaching out and patting his hand. "I'm glad you're doing well."

"Thanks." Sai looked down at Naruto's hand, which let go almost immediately, then at his face. "So, now tell me what's wrong."

Naruto sat back in his seat and stared at the table. "We got in an argument. I said something that I regretted and then he said something back. Then I left."

"What was said?"

"I told him he needed to get over his parents death. But like I said, I regretted instantly, and I told him too. And then he called me orphan trash."

Sai frowned at him and leaned forward on the table. "Why did you guys start arguing in the first place?"

Naruto blushed. "Because of y-" His sentence was cut short when the sound of his ringtone went off. He pulled it out of his pocket. "Speak of the devil." He was about to answer the call when Sai snatched the phone out of his hand and hit end call. "Sai?! What the fuck?!"

Sai shook his head. "You don't need to go to his every beck and call."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Actually, I do. It's literally my job."

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Sai waved him off. "I'll keep this until after dinner. You need to do what's right for you and I don't think going back to him while you're this upset is good for you."

Naruto groaned holding his head in his hands. "I just don't want to get fired!"

"You won't be. And if they really want to fire you, I'll shoulder the blame." Sai smiled at him.

Naruto sat back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fine."

Sai's smile grew wider. "Good." His smile disappeared and he looked at Naruto seriously. "But I do really wanna talk about, us. And exactly what happened."

The waitress arrived at that moment and they thanked the her nd waited for her to leave.

Naruto let out a sigh. "I just don't want to fight. And I feel like no matter what you say, cheating on me is not going to be justified."

"I'm not going to justify it, and I know what I did was wrong. I was young, had no clue how to read people and their emotions, and didn't even have control over my emotions."

Naruto stayed silent, slowly pushing his food around with his fork.

Sai gave him a sad smile. "I'm pretty sure I really did love you, but at that time, I had no idea what love was. And the thought of being away from you while I went to college, hurt me so much. I wanted you to hurt too. So I cheated on you."

Naruto felt himself tense up at Sai's words and he clenched his fists. "You wanted to hurt me? Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"Hey, calm down." Sai tried to hush him, looking around at the people who we're starting to stare and gave them sheepish smiles. "Like I said, I was young and had no idea how to deal with it all. But if I could go back and change everything, I would."

"I told you this was a stupid idea." Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. "I didn't want this to turn into an argument." He shook his head and looked at Sai with disbelief. "How could you not even think that I would be hurting too?"

"You just always had this cool demeanor to yourself. I thought I cared more than you did about our relationship."

"Fucking bullshit." Naruto muttered.

The two were silent, Naruto angrily eating his food while Sai watched him, unsure of what to say.

"I'm truly sorry, Naruto." Sai gave him a desperate look and reached over to place his hand on the blonde's arm. Naruto glanced at his hand before turning his attention to Sai, continuing his eating. "For everything I've done in the past. Sleeping with Gar-"

"Don't." Naruto stopped him. "Just, save it for another day. Please."

Sai watched him carefully. "Let me make it up to you, for ruining the night."

Naruto looked back up from his food, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Let me buy you a couple drinks." Sai finally started to eat, Naruto's plate already half gone.

"I told you I'm not like that anymore. I don't want to be that person anymore."

"I'm not asking you to get fucked up, Naruto. Just a couple drinks so we can end this night on a happy note." Sai could see the look of unsure on Naruto's face and he took the chance to persuade him. "Then afterwards, we can go straight back to the Uchiha's. We won't be there for more than an hour or two. Or we can stay as long as you want."

Naruto let out a sigh. "Sure, I guess. I don't have my dad's ID though. It's back in my car."

"Don't worry about it," Sai smiled brightly at him, happy the blonde accepted his offer. "I made some connections."

Naruto pushed his empty plate away with a snort. "Connections? How did you make connections while living in Suna for three years?"

Sai laughed sheepishly. "A conversation for another day."

Naruto stared at him for a moment until something clicked in his head and he narrowed his eyes. "Oh. Gaara."

"Yeah." Sai looked down at his own plate, only a few bites eaten. "You ready to go?"

"That's it?" Naruto stared at the plate.

"Do you want it?"

"Nope." Naruto got out of his seat, casually putting his hands in his jeans pocket.

Sai went up and paid the check and soon the two of them walked through downtown Konoha. He led them down a dimly lit alleyway, the muffled sounds of heavy bass reverberating throughout the alley.

There was a big, muscular guy dressed in a black suit standing next to a door. Sai led Naruto to the guy.

"Sai. Sai Yamanaka." Sai said to the guy.

The man looked down at him then at Naruto. "And blondie?"

"He's my plus one."

The man chuckled before lifting up the rope to allow them to pass. "I don't think Gaara's gonna like that."

They passed him and entered the building.

"Gaara?" Naruto hissed through clenched teeth. "You're really trying to get me to beat the shit out of you, aren't you?" Naruto shook his head, sucking his teeth. "You didn't tell me he was going to be here."

Sai gave him a shrug and a sheepish smile. "He's not normally here. The guy is probably just gonna report it back to him."

Sai led them to the bar, gently pushing Naruto onto a stool. "Let me get two rum and cokes."

Naruto glared up at him. "Who said I wanted that?"

Sai smirked down at him. "Cause that's what you always get."

"Yeah. If I wanna get fucked up."

The bartender placed the drinks in front of them and Naruto was quick to throwback the drink, immediately asking for another one. Sai raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't want to get fucked up."

Naruto shook his head as the bartender brought his second drink and waited for the blonde to wave him off. "I don't know, with the way this day's been going, I would need to get fucked up. Especially if Gaar-"

"Sai. Naruto." A deep voice said from behind them.

Naruto threw back his second drink, flagging down the bartender once again "Speak of the motherfucking devil and he shall appear." He could tell his words beginning to slur and he mentally cursed himself for being a lightweight. 

"Long time no see, Gaara." Sai raised his drink to the redhead who nodded in response.

"Not going to even face me, Naruto." Gaara smirked down at the blonde who was now clenching onto his third drink like a lifeline.

"I know what shit looks like. I don't need to turn around to see it again." Naruto scoffed. He took a sip and shook his head. "I knew I should've just turned back and gone to that stupid bastards place."

Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "A new love already, Naruto? Should I get ready to meet him?"

Naruto stood up quickly and spun around to face the taller man. His vision blurred and he swayed. "You stay the fuck away from him!" He pointed a finger up at the redhead.

From out of nowhere, two figures appeared next to Gaara, a taller guy, dressed in all black with a purple design tattooed on his face. The other, a girl, her hair pulled into four pigtails and wearing a short purple cocktail dress. The two quickly pulled out switchblades seemingly from nowhere. Gaara held up one hand, a sinister smirk on his face. "Stand down, Temari, Kankuro. Don't you remember our little Naruto?"

Temari and Kankuro relaxed their stances and hid away their blades.

"Come on, Gaara, we don't want any trouble tonight." Sai pleaded.

Gaara turned his glare to Sai. "Maybe you shouldn't bring your stupid little bitches to my club then."

"Fuck off, Gaara." Naruto sat back down, finishing off his third drink.

The redhead scoffed once at Naruto before giving Sai a dark grin. "Drinks for you two are on me tonight." He looked towards the bartender, making sure he heard. Once he got a nod in confirmation, he looked back at Sai. "Tell me later how your night went." He snapped his fingers and walked away, Kankuro and Temari following obediently.

Naruto reached for the fourth glass before Sai's hand stopped him. He gave the raven haired man a glare. "Give me back my drink." His words we're slow and the anger he wanted to portray was lost behind a slurred and drunken accent.

"Maybe you should slow down a bit." Sai moved his hand up to Naruto's elbow, slowly, trailing a finger lightly over his skin, causing the blonde to let out a shiver.

"Don't wanna." Naruto muttered, easily melting into Sai's touch.

"Just for a minute." Sai whispered into his ear and then gave it a quick nip.

Naruto giggled at the feeling and Sai smiled warmly at him. "That tickles." The blonde pouted, eyeing his drink that Sai was still holding onto.

"I know." Sai began to place light kisses against Naruto's neck. Naruto stretched out his neck, allowing Sai more access to his skin.

Naruto let out a small moan when Sai bit him at his collarbone. "Sai, d-" He stopped mid-sentence and pushed Sai away. "No. No! I'm not doing this with you! Especially not here when that asshole can be watching from anywhere."

Sai leaned closer to Naruto, one hand dangerously high on his thigh. "Well then, let's get out of here and go somewhere else." He leaned even closer, pressing his lips against the blonde's.

Naruto glared and pushed Sai away. "No! What don't you fucking understand? I'm not going to have sex with you!"

Sai glared back at Naruto. "Come on, don't be like that! I can clearly see that you want this too!"

Naruto looked down at his lap and looked away, a blush on his face. "J-just because it feels good, doesn't mean I want it."

Sai smirked. "Don't lie to yourself, you want it." He quickly attacked his mouth and Naruto tried in vain to push him away. He squirmed in the raven's grip, only to whimper in pain when Sai held him. 

He squeezed his eyes shut, a tear trailing from his eye. Suddenly, Sai's grip was gone and the same with his mouth. He slowly opened one eye to see what was happening, only to widen both eyes in surprise.

In front of him was an angry Sasuke on top of Sai. He was relentlessly punching him in the face, showing no mercy.

"Come with me, Naruto." Naruto looked up and to his side to see Itachi, his hand outstretched. Naruto nodded once and took the older Uchiha's hand. "Sasuke, knock it off. We don't need to cause a scene."

Sasuke paused in his assault, giving Sai an opportunity to fight back only for Sasuke to give him one swift punch to the temple, rendering him unconscious. He stood up, rubbing his bruised knuckle.

The three of them began to walk out of the club. As Naruto was reaching the exit, he noticed Gaara leaning against the wall near the door. He did his best to glare at the redhead, but his smirk just grew wider.

"Sasuke. Sit in the back with Naruto. Make sure he's okay." Itachi commanded as he got into the car.

The car ride was silent. Naruto sat behind Itachi, feeling ashamed that he was caught acting drunk by the two Uchiha's. He gave a quick glance towards Sasuke who was staring out the window, looking pissed.

Shortly they reached the Uchiha mansion. Itachi helped Naruto out of the backseat and they walked to the front door.

"Sasuke, please put Naruto to bed." Itachi said as soon as they walked in.

Sasuke gave a single nod and unwrapped Naruto's arm from Itachi and wrapped it around his own neck.

"Are you going to fire me?" Naruto asked, his voice small and filled with fear.

"We'll talk in the morning, Naruto." He said no more and walked into the kitchen.

Sasuke slowly guided them to Naruto's room and brought him to the bed.

"Sasuke, you're the best." Naruto muttered as he sat on the bed, not letting go of Sasuke's arm. "I really, really like you." He gives a tug on the unsuspecting Uchiha's arm, causing him to fall forward. Naruto catches him and tries to give him a messy kiss.

Sasuke pushed himself off Naruto and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. 'You're drunk, idiot. And I'm not going to take advantage of you like that.'

Naruto doesn't say anything for a minute, just staring at the raven. He then smiles. "You're so sweet, Sasuke."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and watched as the blonde fell to the bed. He watched him until he thought the blonde fell asleep. As he was about to turn around, Naruto sat up.

"You know Sasuke, I would love to hear your voice one day, I bet it's beautiful."

Sasuke felt himself blush. 'Shut up, Naruto. Go to bed.'

Naruto giggled before lying down. "I love you, Sasuke!" He closed his eyes and soon enough, snoring began to be heard.

Sasuke watched him once again, a small smile gracing his face. 'I think I might love you too.' He left the room and headed into his own bedroom to go to bed.


	10. Chapter 10

Naruto awoke the next morning, his head aching painfully and his stomach feeling nauseous. He groaned loudly and slowly sat up in his bed. He looked around the room to see that he was in his bedroom at the Uchiha’s. “Shit.” He muttered out loud as his actions from last began to pop up in his mind. “I’m so fucked.”

He checked the time to see it was still early. He walked through the bathroom and tested Sasuke’s door to see if it was unlocked. The knob turned easily and he peeked inside to see Sasuke asleep, his back facing him. Naruto slowly closed the door and locked it. With a sigh, he turned the shower on, stripped, and stepped inside.

When he was done, he got dressed and headed down stairs. In the kitchen, Itachi was at the island, sitting on a stool and sipping what he could only assume was coffee.

“Uh, good morning, Itachi.” Naruto greeted nervously. He walked into the kitchen and stood at the counter across from Itachi.

Itachi looked up from his phone and placed it on the counter, giving Naruto his full attention.

“I would like to apologize for my actions last night.” He started off, giving him a slight bow. “I was way out of hand and my priorities should've been focused on Sasuke and not my personal interests. I promise, from now on, something like that will never happen again. I’m not normally that type of person.”

Itachi carefully studied the blonde and Naruto fidgeted underneath his gaze. “I figured this isn’t something that you would normally do. Sasuke kind of told me what had happened before you left.”

Naruto blushed in embarrassment. “I overreacted. I shouldn’t have been offended by something like that. I won’t let it happen again.”

Itachi raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to apologize for your reactions to someone offending you. Especially not from my foolish little brother.”

“Even still, it was very unprofessional.”

“Listen Naruto,” Itachi shifted his position so that he was leaning forward, resting his arms on the counter. “To be honest, if it was anyone else, I probably would be firing them right about now. But,” Itachi smirked as Naruto’s eyes lit up in hopefulness. “You’re intentions with my brother seem to stem from nothing but kindness and I like what you’re doing. Sasuke is showing more emotion in these last couple days than the past five years. So, I would like for you to continue to be his caretaker.”

“Of course!” Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

“But, there is a condition.” Itachi paused and Naruto looked at him nervously. “No more leaving Sasuke alone. You can have your fun, and go drinking and what not, but at least wait until I get home. If Sasuke gets on your nerves, which I know he will, it’s okay to just stay away, but only in the house.”

Naruto nodded vigorously. “Of course!”

“Now, Sasuke seemed a little upset about the whole situation last night. He put you to bed, but I didn’t hear anything from him since.”

“He put me to bed?” Naruto asked, surprised. Itachi nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. “Guess I’ll go talk to him then.”

“Sounds good to me.” Itachi stood up from the stool. “I’ll leave you to it and I will see you later.” He walked out of the kitchen and out the door.

Naruto let out a shaky breath. He was relieved that he still had his job, but now he had to be on good terms with Sasuke. He walked up the stairs and towards Sasuke’s room. He knocked on the door and soon enough, Sasuke opened it, looking at him with a bored look, still in a pair of sweatpants with no shirt on.

Naruto blushed before looking anywhere but at Sasuke. “Can we uh, talk? For a second?”

Sasuke watched him for a second before stepping out of the way, allowing the blonde to pass him. He closed the door and watched as Naruto sat on the bed. He leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest.

Naruto nervously licked his lips. “About yesterday, I’m sorry for insulting you earlier, it was unprofessional of me to act that way. And also,” Naruto looked up at Sasuke, his eyes watery. “Thank you for getting Sai off me. Guess you were right about him, he’s just an asshole.” He wiped at his eyes and gave Sasuke a bright smile,

Sasuke uncrossed his arms. ‘I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have blown up on you like that.’ He walked over to the bed and sat on it, their thighs nearly touching. He smirked at the blonde. ‘It only seems natural that I’d have to save your ass, the damsel in distress.’

Naruto glared at the raven, his smirk only growing wider. He blushed and growled. “Shut up, you stupid bastard.” He shook his head before bouncing off the bed. “Alright! That's really all I had to say, I'll leave you alone.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the blonde and slowly shook his head. ‘No. I need to talk with you now.’

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. “Okay? What about?”

‘Your past.’

Naruto's eyes widened and he gulped audibly. “W-why, do I need to talk about my past?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. ‘Your past is obviously affecting doing your job. How will I know something like this won't happen again?’

Naruto scowled. “That's a bullshit excuse and you know it!”

The two of them glared at each other, neither backing down. Eventually Sasuke let out a sigh. ‘Fine. Take it as,’ he paused and looked off to the side. ‘Me wanting to get to know you.’

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise before he broke out into a large grin. “Well look at you, making progress towards making a friend! I knew this day would come eventually!”

Sasuke scowled at the blonde.

Naruto looked over Sasuke carefully. “I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

Sasuke's scowl slowly disappeared and he nodded in agreement. ‘You have to go first.’

Naruto rolled his eyes but smiled anyways. “Should I have expected anything else?” He wiggled in to try and get comfortable. “Where should I start?”

‘The beginning.’

Naruto nodded. “Alright. I was in an orphanage until I was about 6. That's when I went into my first foster home. They were the perfect family and I thought that this would be my forever home and I'd be happy there. But after about two weeks, they showed their true colors.

“I don't remember their names.” Naruto looked up at the ceiling, recalling the faces of his memories. “But they started to fight. A lot. He would be mad about money and she'd bring up his cheating when he drinks. They were always so loud, I'd have to hide under my bed.” He chuckled darkly. “He came home one night, probably three months of me being there, he was drunk out of his mind. They started a screaming match and I hid under my bed like I normally do. But then,” he paused, taking in a deep breath.

“She screamed, and it was one of those screams that you can never get out of your head. And then a loud bang. Then silence. It felt like hours before I finally heard him calling my name, looking for me.

“I stayed under the bed and tried to be quiet but he found me eventually. He had a gun, and he pointed it at me once he dragged me from underneath the bed. But the cops came and charged in and instead of letting them arrest him, he shot himself and I was placed back into the orphanage.”

Naruto was silent afterwards, staring at the wall ahead of him. Sasuke watched him carefully, seeing no emotion on the blonde's face.

“I was juggled around for a few years after that,” he started up again. “And they were pretty much normal for the most part. It wasn't until high school when I was placed with the Sabaku’s that things started to go bad.

“Their youngest son, Gaara,” Naruto practically hissed out the name, scowling. “Was on suicide watch and it was mostly my job to keep an eye on him.

“Now, Gaara is usually antisocial, but he liked me enough that he was a bit, possessive. At the time though, I didn't mind. It was nice to have someone care for me like that. And soon I was craving his attention so badly, I'd do anything for him.” He scoffed and shook his head. He turned to Sasuke, a sad smile on his face. “Pathetic, I know.”

Sasuke shrugged his shoulder in response and once again gave Naruto his full attention.

“Anyways, freshman year, Gaara managed to hang around with a bad group of kids, they did drugs, drank, stole. You name it, they probably did it. And soon I began to join in. Then, that following summer, I met my first boyfriend and I stopped hanging out with Gaara and focused my attention on him. Everything was going great, or so I thought. But then one day, we were going to meet at our special spot, a small pond hidden in the woods, halfway between our houses. I got there only to see him and Gaara kissing.

“I started to get angry and Gaara quickly explained that he was forced into it and from the way he acted, I believed him. So I told that guy to leave and to never come back. And he didn't.

“I let that anger take over me and went right back into old habits and following Gaara around once again. Until my junior year where I met Sai.

“Sai always went to our school but soon he started to hang out with our group and he started to talk to me. We became really close and I kept him a secret from Gaara. Then, a month or two after we considered ourselves an item, a package came in the mail for me. A box of my parents stuff.

“Turns out, it was a closed adoption until I turned eighteen or unless they died. I didn't get much stuff from them but I got their ID’s and some cash from them. They turned out to be drug addicts and homeless, and gave me up so I didn't have to live that life.” Naruto stopped and looked over at Sasuke. “I should be grateful for that. And I am now, but at the time I wasn't. Gaara saw their stuff and told me I looked exactly like my dad and told me I should use the ID to buy liquor and make money that way too.” He faced forward again and sighed, shaking his head. 

“Sai thought it was a bad idea and told me so but I didn't listen. Soon I started making money and I bought Sai a fake ID and Gaara too. We snuck into clubs and got wasted but surprisingly never got caught. But the last time we all went out, Gaara found out about me and Sai. Probably because we couldn't keep our hands off each other. But soon, I saw less and less of Sai until he told me he wanted to break up with me since he was going to college. I wasn't that angry or upset and we still kind of talked. Until the summer.

“I was going to surprise visit him at his dorm. I brought flowers, got him a special gift. Even made plans for dinner near where he was. But when I got there, I caught him with Gaara.” Naruto shook his head, a sneer on his face. “At that point, I realized Gaara was the problem. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. So I left. I moved to Konoha and just tried to stay with people who I've met while I was in the foster system. And then I eventually ended up here.”

Sasuke studied the blonde carefully before deciding to sign. ‘So what about your actual relationship with Sai?’

Naruto shrugged. “What about it?”

‘I just thought you'd go more into the details about it.’

Naruto laughed. “If you only wanted to know about my past with Sai, you should've just told me to start there.”

Sasuke gave him a smirk. ‘I wanted to know everything about you. Not just about Sai.’

Naruto blushed and turned away from him. “Well, Sai’s story can be for another day.” He turned back to face Sasuke a large grin on his face. “It's your turn!”

Sasuke gave a shrug. ‘Okay. I was in a private school up until my parents died. I didn't have any friends, more so focusing on my school work. I was the top in my class of course. Once my parents died and I became mute, I had to be homeschooled by some nannies and taught sign language so I could communicate. I had so much free time that I decided to take up a hobby. I began to draw and I had a natural talent for it. The more I practiced the better I got. I started posting my stuff online and I got a huge fan base and that's when I started to make money by just drawing.’

Naruto watched Sasuke carefully, Sasuke staring blankly at the blonde. “That's it?”

Sasuke gave him a shrug.

“That was practically nothing!”

‘I never said I had an interesting life.’

“W-what about your parents? Or your brother? What were you like as a young child? You can't just give me nothing!”

‘That can all be saved for another day.’

Naruto pouted, crossing his arms over his chest and mumbling under his breath.

‘So, about what you said last night.’

“Huh? What did I say last night?” Naruto blinked up at him.

‘That you loved me.’

Naruto's face darkened and his eyes widened in horror. “Oh my god! I'm sorry, I can't believe I said that! I don't know what ca-” He was cut off by Sasuke's lips pressing against his own and his eyes once again widened, this time with surprise. The kiss was quick and Naruto gently touched his lips, a slight tingling running through them. “Wh-why did you do that?”

Sasuke's face was tinged with pink as a blush tried to reveal his nervousness. ‘Because I think I may have feelings for you too.’ He grabbed Naruto's hand in his own. ‘Do you want to go out with me?’


	11. Chapter 11

“W-what did you say?” Naruto asked once the shock overcame him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. ‘I asked if you wanted to go out with me.’

“Like a date?”

There was a loud smack as Sasuke hit his forehead. He rolled his eyes before looking at the blonde. ‘Yeah, moron, like a date.’

Naruto studied him carefully before looking up at the ceiling in thought. “Hm.” He scrunched up his nose and gave a playfully disgusted face towards the raven. “I don't know. I heard you can be a real jerk. I don't know if I want to be with that type of guy.”

Sasuke studied him carefully and Naruto tried his best to keep a straight face. Sasuke smirked as he saw the corner of Naruto's mouth twitching. ‘I know you're messing with me. Just admit you want me.’

The blonde laughed out loud. “Whatever you say, bastard.”

Sasuke stood up from the bed and looked expectantly at the blonde. ‘Come on.’

Naruto looked up at him in confusion. “Where are we going?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes and held out his hand for the blonde to take. ‘On a date. Obviously.’

Naruto narrowed his eyes. “But like, where?”

‘It's a surprise.’ Sasuke signed with a smirk. ‘Go get ready.’

“Yeah, yeah.” Naruto mumbled to himself, standing up.

He walked into his room and decided to dress a little nicer than the orange hoodie and jeans he had on. He pulled out a black T-shirt and then a dark grey button up that was decorated with white stars along with a pair of black skinny jeans and his favorite orange converse.

He left his bedroom and knocked on Sasuke's door from the hallway. “I'm ready!”

Sasuke came out a minute later, dressed in a dark blue tank hoodie, and a long sleeved black shirt underneath. He was also wearing Greg cargo shorts along with a pair of black vans. He leaned against his door frame and looked the blonde up and down. ‘Looking good.’

Naruto blushed and scratched at his cheek nervously. “You're not too bad yourself.”

‘Let's go, I'll drive.’ Sasuke stepped out and closed his door behind him, heading for the stairs.

“Wait, you can drive?!” Naruto exclaimed quickly following behind him. “Since when?!”

They reached the bottom of the and Sasuke turned to him, rolling his eyes. ‘Since I was sixteen. I'm a mute, not disabled.’ He made his way to the garage, Naruto hot on his trail.

“What if you get pulled over?!”

‘Just don't get pulled over.’

Naruto sucked his teeth. They reached the car and he climbed in the passenger seat. “No for real! What would you do?”

‘Just start signing.’ Sasuke turned on the car and backed out of the driveway, beginning the drive.

Naruto casually looked out the window. Every now and then he'd glance at the raven, his gaze focused on the road.

It wasn't a long drive and before Naruto knew it, Sasuke pulled into a parking lot of what looked like an old abandoned warehouse. He nervously sat in the car while Sasuke climbed out of the driver's seat.

‘You coming?’ Sasuke asked as he opened Naruto's door, raising an eyebrow at the fact that Naruto still had his seatbelt on.

“I don't know, this seems sketchy as fuck for a first date.” Naruto commented looking out at the building. “Are you gonna like, torture me or something? Some extreme fifty shades of gray deal?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes before reaching in and unbuckling his seatbelt. ‘Don't be ridiculous, Naruto. Let's go.’

He skeptically got out of the car and followed behind Sasuke into the building.

Once inside, Naruto was surprised at the interior.

The entrance was painted a darker blue, the sound of techno music filling the small room. There was a desk situated in the back corner of the room where a blonde man was casually leaning against, a magazine in his hands.

“Ah, Sasuke!” He glanced up and smiled, he stood up straight, his ponytail swaying with the movement. “It's been awhile hasn't it, un?”

Sasuke nodded with a smirk and gently nudged Naruto with his elbow. ‘This is my date, Naruto.’

The blonde was silent for a moment, staring at Sasuke before smiling brightly. “A date, huh? Nice to meet you, Naruto!” He walked out from behind the desk and held out his hand for him to shake.

“Nice to meet you too, uh?” He trailed off, not catching the man’s name.

“Deidara.” He smiled brightly.

“So what is this place?” Naruto asked, noticing the art on the walls. It was different than any museum he's ever been too. The paintings seemed to be more alternative in style.

“This is Akatsuki!” He threw his arms up. “An interactive art studio and gallery, un!” He walked back to the desk and pulled out a brochure and waved them over. “I'm surprised Sasuke never mentioned any of this before, he use to come here a lot.”

Naruto shrugged as he reached the desk, Sasuke standing beside him. “He's not much of a talker.”

Deidara stared at the smaller blonde before laughing loudly, scaring him. “That's pretty funny! I think I'm going to like you, un.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes before impatiently tapping on the opened brochure.

“Yeah yeah, little Uchiha! Calm down.” He snickered. “Anyways, a lot of our artists actually create their work here and then display them, un. Each of our artists bring something unique and out of the ordinary and a lot of guests can interact with their art or create some of their own depending on the artist. For example, I mostly work on sculptures, clay to be more specific. But my work also is temporary, un.”

Naruto raised an eyebrow. “Temporary? How so?”

Deidara gave him a smirk. “It explodes.”

Naruto's eyes widened. “E-explodes?!”

He nodded. “Yeah, pretty cool, ain't it?”

“How does it explode?”

‘We can check out his stuff later.’ Sasuke signed impatiently. He reached for Naruto's hand and tried to walk away when Deidara spoke again.

“You know, Itachi use to come here too, un.”

Naruto stopped in his tracks, pulling Sasuke back. He turned to face Deidara, his eyes wide in shock. “Itachi?! Like, Sasuke's older brother, Itachi?!”

Deidara nodded with a smirk. “He was one of the original artists. He stopped coming once this one went off the deep end and tried to kill himself.”

Sasuke glared at the taller blonde as Naruto just stared at him in fascination. “What's his art style?” He asked excitedly.

Deidara’s smirk grew wider. “I'll let you find out on your own, un. It’s a special one, alright.” The smirk left his face to be replaced with a bright smile. “Have fun you two!” He waved them off and went back to his magazine.

Sasuke quickly grabbed the blonde’s hand before he could ask anymore questions.

“I didn't know Itachi was an artist!” Naruto awed. “That's so cool, how come you or him never mentioned it before?”

‘It's something that he doesn't really like to remember.’ Sasuke commented with a shrug of his shoulders. They entered into a hallway and Sasuke led them to the first door on the left. ‘This is my gallery and studio.’

Naruto stared in amazement at the work before him.

The wall was littered with canvas of different sizes. Most pieces were abstract, not a painting of something in particular. The colors were mostly dark, swirled together in a sinister pattern. Naruto stopped at one piece in particular.

It was a small one, the edges white and in the center, a large circular gray mass of swirls and scribbles with what appeared to be two dark red eyes in the middle. He looked at the title of the painting, ‘Inner Demon’.

“This is amazing, Sasuke.” He walked along the walls of the rest of the room. “I can honestly feel the emotions behind these paintings.”

‘Thank you.’ Sasuke replied, proud that Naruto loved his art. ‘Follow me.’

He led him to a door, pulling out a key and unlocking it. ‘Most people keep their studios open so guests can see them work but I like doing it in private.’

Naruto followed after Sasuke to see his studio. The room was surprisingly messy, paint supplies and canvas’ strewn throughout the room. “Pretty messy in here.”

Sasuke shrugged. ‘I like it that way.’ He walked over to an easel where he placed an empty canvas onto. ‘I want to start a new piece so I'll probably be coming here more often.’

“Really? What are you thinking of painting?” Naruto asked curiously.

Sasuke gave him a smirk. ‘That's a surprise, you'll see it eventually.’

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. “You do know I have to be here with you.”

‘In the building, sure. But not the same room.’

Naruto sighed. “Okay fine, have your secrets.”

Sasuke took his hand and led him back out of the room, locking the door behind him. ‘Now we can see Deidara’s work.’

Sasuke led them out of his gallery and to the door directly across the hall. As soon as he opened the door, a loud bang erupted from the room causing Naruto to jump back in fright.

“W-what the hell was that?” Naruto asked as Sasuke casually stepped into the room. “Sasuke, wait!” Another bang came from the room and Naruto ‘eeped’ before quickly following after the raven.

The room they entered was a tan color, one wall painted to look like a backdrop of a desert. Against that wall stood about six or seven statues, Naruto noted. About thirty feet away from them stood a metal railing that was about four feet, a yellow and black strip of flooring running alongside of it.

“What's that for?” Naruto asked, pointing to the floor.

‘Hold on. Keep your eyes on that wall.’ Sasuke walked past him back to the door. Naruto gave him a quick glance before keeping his focus on the statues.

The door opened and closed and Naruto once again gave a quick glance only to see that Sasuke left. He furrowed his eyebrows before looking back over at the wall.

The door opened and with a loud bang occurred and Naruto watched in awe as one of the statues in the middle exploded.

“Holy shit.” Naruto remarked, too shocked to say anything else.

Sasuke walked up to him and stood next to him.

“He really wasn't kidding, was he?” Naruto finally asked after staring at the empty space for some time.

Sasuke shook his head before nodding his head towards an open door. ‘Want to check out his studio?’

Naruto tentatively nodded before following the raven.

The room was large and had a grey-green coloring. There was a large kiln in the corner of the room along with a table and a stool. There looked to be a work in progress in the middle of the room, standing at only a foot tall and covered by a white, wet cloth.

“Is this his latest piece?” Naruto asked, nervously stepping towards it.

‘You can touch it, it's harmless in here.’ Sasuke replied, taking the cloth off to reveal what looked like the bottom half of some type of bird. ‘Yeah it looks like it.’

Naruto touched the clay, very gently. “So it can explode after its heated?”

Sasuke shook his head. ‘No, the statues on their own don't explode. He has to rig them up. They explode when someone pushes down on the outside door handle.’

Naruto looked shocked. “S-so it really has nothing to do with his clay?!”

Sasuke smirked but once again shook his head.

“That liar! See what happens when you trick Naruto Uzumaki!” He shook his fist at the empty room before turning to look at Sasuke. “Alright, show me the next artist!”

Sasuke nodded before leading him back out of the room and to another door further down the hallway.

‘This is Kisame’s gallery. He's Itachi’s best friend.’ Sasuke stopped in front of a door and held it open for Naruto to go through.

The room was dark and got even darker once Sasuke let the door close behind him. “Shit, I can't see a thing.”

Instantly a light turned on and Naruto shut his eyes tightly, the sudden light blinding him. “What the hell?! You trying to blind me?!” He peeked one eye open to glare at the smirking raven.

‘Look around you.’ Sasuke gestured to the room.

Naruto slowly opened the other eye and stared in awe.

The wall was covered in glittery scales in different designs. The light hitting them causing then to reflect to the ground. There was also a couple sculpture pieces hanging from the ceiling. 

“This is beautiful.” Naruto walked up to the wall and carefully touched it.

‘They're fish scales.’

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. “Really?!”

Sasuke nodded and gestured his head to where Naruto assumed was Kisame's studio. He opened the door for the blonde, and they stepped in.

“Hey there, little Uchiha.” The two of then looked to see a tall man standing next to a large sized aquarium.

The aquarium took up one section of the room. There was a large station where it looked like the fish would be descaled. There was also a large table in the middle of the room and a small area in a corner where there was a fridge and a stove with a cabinet above it.

“And who is this?” The man came up to Naruto who jumped, not being aware of the man's presence. The man was tall and had dark skin, his hair dyed a dark blue. His features were distinct, making Naruto think of a shark. He was wearing a white tank top and black cargo shorts.

‘My date.’

Kisame stared at Sasuke. The raven rolled his eyes before gesturing to Naruto.

“Oh, uh, he said ‘my date’.” Naruto responded for him.

“Oh! I knew you swung that way, Sasuke.” Kisame smiled a toothy grin, showing off his pointed teeth. “The name's Kisame!” He held out his hand for the blonde to shake.

“Naruto.” He looked around the room again after shaking the man's hand. “So uh, how does this all work.”

“Glad you asked, blondie!” Kisame clapped his hands together. “First we start off with the fish.” He walked over to the large aquarium. “I catch all these fish myself, I use to be a marine biologist. So I kept a lot of my diving gear and do it in my spare time. I mostly catch the colorful ones.”

Naruto stared into the fish tank and was surprised to see the multitude of colorful fish.

“I also breed and sell em. You wanna buy?” Kisame smirked at the blonde and Naruto turned to look at Sasuke who was shaking his head with a bored look.

“Uh, no?”

Kisame sighed in disappointment. “Well, once I have an idea in mind, I pick some fish, descale ‘em and cook ‘em up!” He gave another toothy grin. “I save the scales in special containers in the fridge for future pieces.”

Naruto looked at the man, slightly horrified and turned to see Sasuke peering into the window of the oven to see what Kisame was cooking.

“Take a look. These are blue scales.” Naruto turned to look at Kisame again who had a large plastic container filled with blue scales.

“Woah!” He hurriedly made his way to the fridge to get a closer look. “This is actually really pretty.”

“See? It's beautiful art!” Kisame took out a scale and held it out for Naruto to take.

“Doesn't it get expensive always buying new fish?” Naruto asked, feeling the smooth scale in his finger.

Kisame shrugged, putting the container away. “I actually try to breed the fish in here so I don't have to dish out an arm and a leg.”

Sasuke walked over to them and looked at Kisame curiously. ‘When’s the food done?’

Kisame stared at the raven before looking at Naruto expectantly.

“He asked when the food would be done.”

Kisame gave Sasuke a glare. “You greedy ass! You're always after my food! Never appreciate my art! At least I do something creative unlike your dull ass who just sits around with a pencil and twirling it around some fucking paper like every other Picasso out there!”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Kisame’s tirade while Naruto looked shocked. ‘We’ll come back later.’ He grabbed the blonde's hand and began to guide him back towards the hallway.

“Uh, see you later Kisame!” Naruto called out. Kisame waved them away, grumbling to himself.

“He was a character.” Naruto commented as they reached the hallway.

‘Yeah, but he's right about the originality thing. His art is beautiful.’

Naruto frowned. “But that doesn't mean he's right about your art.”

Sasuke gave him a smirk. ‘I didn't say he was right that.’ He led them across the hall and stopped in front of the door. ‘This is my brother's studio.’ He looked away nervously. ‘I have to warn you, its not pretty and he hasn't been here in years. I'm not sure what his latest work is.’

Naruto laughed nervously. “You make him sound like he's crazy.”

Sasuke shrugged. ‘Ready?’

Naruto gulped audibly before nodding. It was now or never.


	12. Chapter 12

Sasuke opened the door to a room that was dimly lit. Naruto tentatively followed after him. He gazed at the artwork that was displayed and let out a breath that he didn’t realize he was holding.

“This isn’t so bad. They’re just portraits.” Naruto noted that the paintings displayed were of Itachi and what he could only assume were the other members of Akatsuki based on the paintings of the two faces he met earlier and Sasuke. “What’s so bad about it?”

Sasuke turned the light’s brightness and Naruto’s eyes narrowed in concentration. ‘Do you see it?’

Naruto shook his head.

‘Follow me.’ Sasuke walked over to the door that led to Itachi’s studio. The door was locked and Sasuke typed in a code on the door panel and was granted access.

Naruto stepped into the dark room after Sasuke and instantly covered his nose. “What the hell is that smell?!”

There was no answer and soon the room was flooded in light.

It was pretty much empty but the table was stained a dark red, as well as a corner of the room where an easel sat.

Naruto’s eyes widened at the realization. “Is, was all that, blood?”

Sasuke nodded and carefully watched Naruto.

Naruto walked further into the room and looked around, carefully examining everything. “How did he do it?”

‘Depended on the person.’ Sasuke said with a shrug. ‘Most people wanted it to be made with their own blood but he kept a jar of it and froze it in case someone didn’t want to be cut.’

“Damn. That’s hardcore.” Naruto remarked.

‘Yeah. Most of the time, people had to come in sessions so they wouldn’t get too dizzy from the blood loss.’

“So he just cut them, just like that?” Naruto asked, still curious about the process.

Sasuke tapped his chin in thought. ‘It’s kind of like how you get your blood drawn. He sticks a needle in you and attaches a vial to the tube. And like I said, all extra he froze in a jar and thawed for those who didn’t want to.’

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. “So you let him do that to you?”

Sasuke shrugged. ‘Why not? I trusted my brother enough not to kill me.’

Naruto shook his head. “He’s a good artist but damn is he hardcore.” He gave a look to Sasuke. “What do you think he’d say if I brought it up?”

‘Just be mad that I showed you a side of him that he wants hidden.’ Sasuke walked back towards the door, pushing it open. ‘Ready for Konan’s?’

Naruto quickly followed after him. “Who’s Konan?”

Sasuke smirked as he turned down the light to Itachi’s gallery. ‘Itachi’s ex.’

“No fucking way!” Naruto grinned back at him. “I can’t wait to see the type of girls Itachi dates.”

Sasuke led them a little further down the hall and walked into the room, holding the door open for Naruto.

The sound of fluttering filled the room and Naruto stood in awe as a swirling mass of colored paper butterflies flew in the middle of the room. He went to the circular metal railing and watched closely.

“This is beautiful.” Naruto commented as Sasuke leaned against the railing next to him.

‘She’s excellent at moving origami. The butterflies are a permanent part of her gallery but she switches everything else out.’ Sasuke slowly pointed to a large origami person that was slowly swaying.

Naruto’s eyes widened. “How did she get paper that big?!”

Sasuke smirked. ‘She used more than one sheet of paper. She folds them into each other, so I guess it’s not true origami.’

Naruto started to walk around the room, admiring the different pieces of work that moved due to the currents of air placed throughout the room. “This is all so amazing.”

‘Ready to meet her?’ Sasuke asked, standing next to the door that led to her studio.

Naruto nodded, suddenly becoming nervous.

Sasuke led the way into the studio. Soft music filled the room.

Naruto watched again in awe as a beautiful woman stood, swaying to the music, eyes closed. Her hair was dyed a light blue and she had several facial piercings that seemed to add to her beauty. She was wearing a black tank top and white form fitting shorts. When the door closed, an eye opened revealing dark iris’, almost black in color. She stopped suddenly, giving Sasuke a glare. “What are you doing here?”

‘I’m showing my date around.’ Sasuke replied with a cool look.

She turned her glare to Naruto who stared at her, half shocked, half scared. Her gaze softened. “The name’s Konan.”

“Naruto.” He replied, he glanced over at Sasuke who stood looking bored. “I, uh, I really love your art.”

She studied him carefully before giving him a bright smile. “At least you know good art when you see it. Do you want to contribute to the butterfly display?”

Naruto raised an eyebrow, confused. “Contribute?”

She nodded her head. “Follow me.” She walked to the back of the room where there was a ;large filing cabinet. She pulled out a drawer and inside was multiple shades of colored paper. “I like all my guests to fold their own butterfly and throw it into the display. You can personalize it too.”

Naruto’s eyes widened. “So you’re telling me that all those butterflies are other people’s work? There’s thousands!”

She giggled behind her hand. “You’re so cute.”

‘Back off, Konan.’ Sasuke signed angrily.

She rolled her eyes before allowing Naruto to pick a sheet of paper. “Calm down, I’m not gonna do anything. I, am faithful unlike some others I know.”

“Itachi’s a cheater too!?” Naruto looked at Sasuke. “And you think you’d know someone.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. ‘He’s not a cheater. He was just doing a friend a favor and it turned south.’

Konan pouted. “Listen, baby Uchiha, I’m gonna show your little boyfriend how true art is made then I want you out of my studio.” She looked down at Naruto, a smile on her face. “You can come back anytime you want.” She tapped him on the nose and giggled.

Naruto smiled happily at her before sticking his tongue out at Sasuke. “Ha, she likes me!”

Sasuke again rolled his eyes at Naruto’s childish response.

Konan walked Naruto through the ropes of folding paper. He personalized his orange paper and followed her directions, making a butterfly. He looked at it in awe.

“Come on, let’s go put it out.” She led the blonde back out into her gallery. The currents of air picked back up as soon as the door opened, the paper coming back to life. She stopped in front of butterflies and turned to face Naruto. “Now, before you throw it in, you have to make a wish. The higher it goes, the more likely it is to come true.”

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. He thought his wish as loud as he could in his mind before opening his eyes and throwing the butterfly into the fates of the currents.

The three of them watched the butterfly soar until it was almost at the top of the currents.

“Look at that! Your wish is definitely going to come true!” Konan clapped her hands.

Naruto smiled and turned to look at Sasuke who was still staring up at the butterflies. “I hope so too.”

Sasuke looked back down at the smiling blonde. ‘Ready for the next one?’

Naruto nodded. “Bye Konan, thank you!”

“Bye Naruto! Come back any time you like! Not you, Sasuke!”

Naruto laughed as they exited her gallery. “She hates you and Itachi so much.”

Sasuke shrugged. ‘She's just being overdramatic. She still loves us both.’

“What even happened anyways?”

‘That's a story I think Itachi would be better at telling. All I can say is she brought a lot of drama.’ Sasuke shook his head and stopped in front of another door. ‘Let's go.’

They walked in, and Naruto instantly took in a deep breath. The smell was amazing, he felt like he got transported deep into a forest.

“Welcome!”

“Welcome!”

Naruto looked to see two guys, one pale the other dark-skinned. They looked almost similar in appearance. They both had short, almost shaved, dark hair. Their eyes were a golden color that Naruto assumed must be contacts. They both were wearing a white T-shirt and khaki cargo shorts. “Uh, hello.”

“I'm Zetsu!” The paler one bowed.

“And I'm Zetsu!” The darker one also bowed.

“Oh, um, okay?” Naruto turned to Sasuke, looking at him confused.

‘You can identify them by calling them White Zetsu and Black Zetsu.’

Naruto's eyes widened and he turned back to the two Zetsu’s. “So what kind of art do you guys do?”

The two stood up and looked at each other before grinning wildly at Naruto. “Plant art!”

“Plant, art?”

“Just look around you.” The pale Zetsu held his arm out and gestured towards the gallery.

Naruto finally took notice of his surroundings. The terrain was a dirt floor, a clear path made between pieces of art. There were all different types of plants, shrubs trimmed into blizzard shapes, flowers that grew in weird patterns or bizzare colors, and even trees that were split in the middle to hold more pieces of art. “Wow, this is all so, beautiful.”

“Isn't it?” The darker Zetsu placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

“Want to see the magic?” The pale Zetsu snuck up next to Naruto, whispering in his ear.

“Uh, sure?” He looked to Sasuke for confirmation only to see Sasuke walking towards the studio. 

The Zetsu pair led Naruto behind Sasuke and into their studio. The room was fairly large. The whole room was covered in dirt, a small stone path led throughout different areas. Towards the back was a garden where multiple plants were growing and towards the front was a table and a chainsaw.

“So here's where the magic starts.” The pale Zetsu led them to the back. “I plant and grow all of our plants. We have shrubs here, and flowers over here.” He pointed to the designated areas. “Trees we usually import from tree farms which is why we don't really have many pieces of.”

Naruto looked at the flowers and stared at one in particular. “How do you get these crazy colors?”

“In the ground, we dye the water with food coloring and place the flowers in the jar. In a matter of time, the petals are dyed.”

“That's so cool.” Naruto replied.

“Once the flowers are finished growing, then comes my job.” The darker Zetsu gestured with his head towards the table.

The three of them followed him.

“So this table is where I arrange the flowers into the beautiful pieces you see out there.”

“What about the chainsaw?” Naruto questioned, staring at the object.

“Trees and shrubs. Can't really work on it with my hands.”

“That's so cool. We want a demonstration, right Sasuke?!” He looked over to the raven who raised an eyebrow.

‘You and chainsaws? Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.’

Naruto glared at him but didn't respond.

“I can shape a shrub of you two.” Zetsu said with a shrug.

Naruto's eyes lit up. “Really?”

He nodded. “I just gotta capture a picture cause we don't have any shrubs big enough yet.” He pulled out his phone from his pocket. “Get together and kiss. Real quick.”

Naruto looked at Sasuke who in turn shrugged before walking over to him and pulling him close. “Sas-” he waa cut off by Sasuke's lips on his own. He slowly closed his eyes.

The two of them sank into their own world as Sasuke put more pressure into the kiss, Naruto returning it. Sasuke slowly prodded his tongue to Naruto's lips.

The blonde reluctantly opened his mouth, allowing the raven to map his mouth causing him to moan into the kiss.

Soon they parted for air, their lips bruised and breathing hard.

“Damn, that was pretty intense.”

“I'll say.”

The two blushed and stepped apart, trying to catch their breaths.

“This is going to be one sexy shrub.” The darker Zetsu said, causing the paler one to laugh.


	13. Chapter 13

Sasuke and Naruto left the Zetsus' studio after confirming a picture that the two of them liked.

"So, how many more galleries are left?" Naruto asked as they began to walk farther down the hall.

Sasuke held out his hand, indicating five.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Damn, that's a lot of people." He gave a warm smile to Sasuke. "I'm glad you're showing me all this though. Have you ever shown anyone else?"

Sasuke's cheeks held a tint of pink at Naruto's words but he shook his head. 'No. I don't really like anyone enough to show them all this.'

Naruto studied Sasuke, staying silent. "I'm flattered that you like me enough."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's snicker. 'Come on, let's go.'

He led them to a door where loud music was playing from. Naruto watched skeptically as Sasuke opened the door.

The two stepped in and Naruto was immediately blasted by the loud, heavy rock music. He covered his ears and looked at Sasuke who seemed unaffected and continued on. He took this time to view the artwork.

He noticed that they were wax figures. He walked up to one of them and stared in awe at the detailed work. The figure had bright orange hair, multiple facial piercings and purple eyes that had a swirling pattern to them.

He viewed some more to find that they all had the same eyes and piercings.

Sasuke walked up beside the blonde. 'Nagato isn't here. His studio is locked. We can move on to the next one.'

Naruto nodded his head, still staring. "What's the deal with all these? They have the same eyes and piercings."

Sasuke waved him off as he headed towards the door. 'Some symbolism for pain. You can ask when you get the chance to meet him.'

They walked down the hallway again and saw Deidara.

"Hey!" Naruto called out to him, he jogged to catch up to the older blonde. "Where you heading?"

"Hm?" Deidara glanced down at Naruto before turning his head to see Sasuke trailing behind at a slower pace. He turned his attention back to Naruto and gave him a smile. "Just going to see my boyfriend then we're gonna grab lunch. You two wanna join?"

Naruto's eyes lit up at the mention of food and he looked back at Sasuke. "That sounds fun, doesn't it?"

Sasuke shrugged. 'Better than it did with those other people.'

"Those 'other people' are your friends. It was nice. Well, until the end." Naruto shivered.

Deidara stopped in his tracks and stared at Naruto, mouth agape. "You got Sasuke to go out for lunch, un?"

Naruto turned to face him with a toothy grin. "Hell yeah I did!"

"You must be something special, this ice princess doesn't want to do shit." Deidara snickered.

Sasuke glared, cheeks dusted with a light blush. 'Shut up, Deidara.'

Deidara shrugged his shoulders in response. "It is what it is."

Naruto gave Sasuke a nudge. "You'll bring me back to see everyone else's work, right?"

Sasuke gave him a nod and Naruto grinned back at them.

"Well, you can view Sasori's work while we're here." Deidara says as he stopped beside a door. "Go ahead and ring the bell."

Naruto stared curiously at the doorbell that was placed directly in the middle of the door. He gave a look to Sasuke who just shrugged then looked back to Deidara who gave him a reassuring smile. "O-okay." He walked up and pushed the button.

The bell chimes could be heard from the other side of the door. The three waited patiently until the door opened.

Naruto grinned only to see an empty doorway. He looked down and nearly screamed in fright.

Standing in the doorway was a grotesque figure, hunched over with dark eyes, grey skin and black stringy hair. Its bottom half of his face was covered by a white scarf and he was wearing a black cloak.

Naruto looked back at Sasuke who was giving him a smirk, and then to Deidara who was outright laughing. The smaller blonde glared at the two his hands on his hips. "What is this?!"

"My puppets." A deep voice from behind him said.

Naruto froze before slowly turning his head to see who was talking. There now leaning in the doorway, stood a tall red-headed man. He had bright green eyes and a neutral expression. He was wearing a short-sleeved black hoodie and black shorts. He raised an eyebrow at Naruto.

"Hey Sasori." Deidara greeted. He walked over to Sasori and placed a kiss on his cheek. "This is Naruto, Sasuke's date." He sang the word 'date', giving the pair a smirk.

Both Naruto and Sasuke blushed.

Sasori nodded his head. "Nice to meet you. I gotta finish up some things before we go, you guys can come in if you'd like." He didn't wait for an answer as he walked back into his gallery and headed for his studio.

Deidara and Sasuke followed behind, Naruto warily trailing behind, keeping one eye on the puppet that was still at the door.

"Damn, that was," Naruto stopped talking as he took in the room around him. "Creepy."

"Thank you." Sasori replied.

The room was filled with more puppets, each of them looking as creepy as the first one. All of then were performing different tasks, like sweeping, dancing and even moving objects around.

"How are they all moving like that?" Naruto asked, sticking close to Sasuke's side and avoiding the puppets at all cost.

"With wires and gears, un!" Deidara replied, a big smile on his face. "My boyfriend is so smart."

Naruto visibly relaxed after hearing the answer.

'You didn't really think they moved on their own, did you?' Sasuke asked, a knowing smirk on his face.

His face darkened with a blush "O-of course n-not!"

Deidara snorted while Sasori shook his head. Sasori unlocked the door to his studio and allowed the three to pass through before closing the door behind him.

"Have a seat." Sasori gestured towards the workbench in the middle of the room where four stools were placed along the sides.

Wooden limbs were scattered about the table and Naruto's face paled as he stood frozen.

'You gonna sit?' The smirk was once again on Sasuke's face.

"Duh, Sasuke." Naruto replied with a air of confidence. He walked over and sat in a stool, only to jump up in fright as Deidara subtly pushed a leg towards him.

"This is hilarious, un!" Deidara managed to say between laughter.

Naruto glared as Sasuke sat down. He sat as well and turned to Sasori. "So, how does this all work?"

Sasori looked up from his seat and gave Naruto his attention. "Well, I carve out the limbs, body and head from a special wood that my grandmother grows. It's pretty soft and malleable. I make the bodies and limbs hollow so I can put the mechanics inside and set them to do tasks. It takes months for a puppet depending on the task."

"Wow, that sounds like a lot of work." Naruto replied, surprised.

Sasori shrugged. "It's easy when your job only needs a few hours of your time online."

"He's in the process of inheriting his family's business, un." Deidara said, a feeling of pride overtaking him.

Naruto's eyes widened. "What business?"

"Chiyo Toys."

"I love those toys!" Naruto grinned excitedly at him. "That's so cool!"

"Thanks." Sasori fiddled with one of the pieces before standing up. "Alright, I'm finished for the day, ready to go?"

The three of them nodded. "Itachi said he'll meet us there." Sasori replied, taking out his phone.

"Think we should invite Konan?" Deidara asked with a smirk.

'Definitely.' Sasuke signed.

Sasori rolled his eyes as he led them out of the studio and gallery and into the hall. "You guys are just asking for trouble."

'I just want my brother to be happy, and I feel Konan can do just that.' Sasuke shrugged.

"You're a terrible liar."

Deidara laughed and Naruto looked on in confusion. "Don't worry, Naruto. You'll see soon enough."

They stopped at Konan's door and Deidara knocked loudly.

A minute or two later, Konan stepped out and looked at them, bored. "What do you guys want?"

"Naruto really wants you to come out to lunch with us, un" Deidara smiled sweetly at her. Naruto gaped and tried to protest but was instantly jabbed by Sasuke's elbow.

Konan's eyes softened as she looked at the smaller blonde. "Really? I mean, why not, I have no plans! Give me a sec." She closed the door, going back inside.

Deidara and Sasuke smirked while Sasori shook his head. "I don't want her blaming me for whatever bad thing is gonna happen." Naruto pouted at Sasuke.

'It'll be all good. Don't worry about it.' Sasuke pulled him closer to him.

"Alright," Konan threw the door open, purse in hand. "Let's go!"


	14. Chapter 14

The group arrived at the restaurant and saw Itachi sitting in a far off booth, phone in his hand.

"You guys didn't tell me he was going to be here." Konan hissed as the group walked towards him.

"Oh, we didn't?" Deidara pretended to ask innocently as he snickered behind his hand.

"Honestly, you two need to get over it and just get back to fucking. It'll be better for both of you." Sasori responded.

Konan gave a flip of her hair as she trailed behind the two. "I'm not going back to an emotionless prick like him. I'm too good for that."

"Whatever you say." Was Sasori's response as he continued on.

Itachi looked up from the table as Deidara and Sasori were the first to approach. He frowned when he noticed Konan behind them, Naruto and Sasuke behind her. "Why am I not surprised you'd do something like this to me."

"We just want to see you happy, Itachi." Deidara smiled at him as he sat down. "And you were happiest with Konan."

"Yeah, Konan's a nice girl." Naruto spoke up.

'Don't butt in.' Sasuke nudged him in the side. 'The drama between them is enough and you live with Itachi.'

"Shit." Naruto whispered under his breath.

"Thank you, Naruto." Konan smiled at him. She then turned back to Itachi, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't even know how you guys even could tell he was happy."

Itachi rolled his eyes before pointing to the seat next to him. "Just sit down."

She looked around to see that all the other seats were taken. She let out a huff before sitting down and scooting her chair closer to Naruto.

"So, what were you two doing that made you meet up with these three?" Itachi asked, looking to Naruto and Sasuke.

'A date.' Sasuke signed casually.

Itachi's eyebrows went up as he stared at the two. Naruto blushed under his gaze. "A date? Really?"

Sasuke gave a nod. 'We went to Akatsuki.'

"Oh." Itachi stayed silent afterwards, taking a sip of his drink.

"So, your artwork?" Naruto spoke up.

"What about it?"

"Uh, why'd you stop?"

"I had to take care of Sasuke. He needed to be watched constantly."

"So, now that I'm here, will you go back?"

The rest of the table looked up to stare at the older Uchiha.

"That's a good question, un. Will you come back?" Deidara asked, his eyes wide.

Itachi cleared his throat. "I don't know, that I may be just a part of my past now."

"I liked your artwork." Konan spoke up, her voice low. "I think you should go back to it."

"See, even the person who hates you the most is encouraging you to pursue it." Sasori spoke up as Itachi watched Konan carefully.

Itachi glanced to Sasori before looking back at Konan who was intently staring at the menu. He turned to face the rest of the group. "I have too many responsibilities now."

'Now you're just making excuses.' Sasuke closed the menu, staring at his brother, arms crossed over his chest.

"Why did you even start making art with that type of, medium?" Naruto asked, staring curiously at Itachi. "You just don't seem like the type."

Deidara let out a loud laugh. "You should've met Itachi a few years back, he was like Prince of the Underworld, un."

Itachi rolled his eyes. "I wasn't that bad."

"Yes you were." Deidara, Konan and Sasori all said.

"Was he?" Naruto turned to Sasuke.

"He was just as bad, un!" Deidara protested, speaking up before Sasuke could sign.

Naruto snickered as he looked at Sasuke who boredly looked at the menu. He then focused on his own menu before going pale. He felt a nudge in his side and he turned to see Sasuke looking at him, an eyebrow raised.

'Is everything okay?'

Naruto nervously laughed. "Uh, I think I'm just gonna skip lunch."

Itachi studied Naruto carefully. "Don't worry about the price, Naruto. Lunch is on me."

Naruto's eyes widened before he looked at the menu with vigor.

The waitress came over and took the tables order before walking away to give the order to the kitchen.

"So, why did you two break up?" Naruto asked.

"Oh no." Sasori groaned as Deidara snickered.

Itachi shrugged. "Ask her. To be honest, I'm still unsure of what her reasoning behind it is."

Konan glared at the older Uchiha, crossing her arms over her chest. "I've already explained time and time again. You're emotionally unavailable! And you cheated on me! With Kisame!"

Itachi rolled his eyes before narrowing his gaze. "I kept telling you, even before it happened, I was doing him a favor."

"Bullshit. It's one thing pretending to be gay but making out with him is more than that."

"You made out with Kisame?!" Naruto looked at Itachi in shock. Itachi turned his glare to Naruto. "Itachi, I thought you were a completely different person but here you are showing a side I never would've believed." He began to snicker behind his hand.

"I didn't make out with him, Konan. I already told you this." Itachi turned back to her.

Konan began to laugh and she looked at the rest of the table. "He thinks I'm stupid enough to believe that he was fake making out with his best fucking friend. Like I didn't see the two of them with their fucking hands all over each other and their tongues down each other's throats!"

"I already told you this, Konan, it was all staged!"

The two began to argue loudly and Deidara smiled at Naruto who looked on in shock as the two just seemed to get louder.

"See Naruto, it was all worth it, un!"

Sasori and Sasuke nodded as the two also watched in amusement.

Naruto stared at the three of them. "You guys are weird as fuck."

'Just wait. Give it like five more minutes and they'll be making out with each other like none of this happened.' Sasuke signed with a smirk before gently pulling Naruto closer to him.

And the two of them did, as soon as they screamed they hated each other. Naruto's eyes widened as the mood changed instantly. "What the fuck?!"

Sasuke shrugged. 'Typical Itachi and Konan. They'll marry each other eventually.'

The two pulled apart and gave each other a look before Konan stood up. Itachi watched her walk away before he looked at the table. "Sasuke, you have my spare card. If I'm not back in time, save my leftovers and pay for it."

Sasuke gave him a smirk and a wave. 'Have fun.'

Itachi smirked back before following after her.

"What the fuck just happened?" Naruto asked once the pair were out of sight.

"They'll probably get together for about a month or two." Sasori gave a shrug.

"If you ever get that crazy, I'm running away."Naruto said as he gave Sasuke a look.

Sasuke gave him a look before shaking his head. 'Same.'

The food soon arrived, Itachi and Konan still didn't show up by the time the four finished their food. Sasuke packed up the two untouched meals and the four of them left after paying the bill.

"Well that ended up being a nice double date." Deidara said while leaning out the passenger window of Sasori's car after dropping the two off. "We'll have to do it again, right, un?"

"Yeah! And I still have to see the rest of Akatsuki." Naruto smiled back at the older blonde.

"Nice meeting you, Naruto." Sasori waved as he leaned over Deidara's lap.

"Nice to meet you too!" Naruto waved and the two of them watched as the couple drove away.

'Ready to go?' Sasuke signed before casually throwing his arm around the blonde.

"Yeah." They began to walk to the car. "I'm driving though. I'm still paranoid about you getting pulled over."


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning, Naruto awoke, stretching as he climbed out of the bed. He went into the bathroom and began to get ready for a shower.

Suddenly Sasuke's door opened, the raven casually leaning against the door frame with a smirk.

"What are you doing?!" Naruto screeched as he quickly pulled his shirt back down, his face darkened with a blush.

'I was hoping to help the planet by saving water and showering with you.' Sasuke's smirk seemed to only get bigger as Naruto glared at him.

"Nice try. Now get out and let me shower in peace."

He gave the blonde a shrug before making his way out the bathroom.

It wasn't long before Naruto was finished with his shower and done getting ready for the day. He made his way down stairs and into the kitchen. He was surprised to see Konan and Itachi, leaning against the island, kissing passionately.

"Uh, good morning, guys." Naruto greeted awkwardly.

The two slowly pulled away from each other. "Good morning, Naruto." Itachi replied, Konan smiling at him.

"Shouldn't you be leaving for work?" Naruto asked, looking at the clock on the oven.

"I'm taking the day off." He replied with a shrug. He walked over to the fridge and opened the door. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"A burger." Konan quickly replied, hopping onto the counter.

Naruto quickly turned to face her, a look of bewilderment on his face. "For breakfast?"

She smirked at him. "Yeah, why not? Food is food. It doesn't change taste just cause time does."

"She does have a point." Itachi pointed out. He leaned down and pulled out a package of meat. "It's not like food changes taste depending on the time of day."

Naruto looked at him skeptically. "I guess that's true."

Sasuke walked into the kitchen just at that moment, striding over to the stool that Naruto was standing next to at the island. He sat down and looked at the room. 'What's for breakfast?'

"Burgers." All three of them replied, each in a different tone.

He blinked at them before rolling his eyes. 'Let me guess, Konan's idea?'

Itachi and Naruto nodded while Konan gave him a superior look. "You got a problem?"

'Nope.' He hopped off the stool. 'I'm gonna skip breakfast and work on some art before therapy.' He walked out of the room.

"O-okay!" Naruto called out after him, unsure of whether or not he should follow.

After what Naruto could only call an interesting breakfast, he waited until Itachi and Konan left before he made a quick plate of scrambled eggs and toast and headed to Sasuke's room.

He knocked on the door before walking in. "Hey, I brought you some breakfast!"

Sasuke gave him a quick nod in acknowledgement before turning his attention back to the computer.

Naruto walked over and set the plate on the desk before sitting in the chair that he usually sat in. "I had fun yesterday. I think it's actually the first time I went on a legit date."

Sasuke looked at him, eyes slightly widened. 'Really?'

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. With Sai, I didn't really go out on dates like that. There was always usually someone with us."

There was silence between the two of them until Sasuke gave Naruto a small smile. 'It was a first for me too. And I had a good time.'

Naruto stared at Sasuke, mouth agape. "No way! Your first date?!"

Sasuke nodded.

"You came off as such a player though."

Sasuke gave him a smirk. 'Just because I never went on a date doesn't mean I never got any.'

Naruto rolled his eyes as Sasuke went back to his computer. "Whatever."

The two hung out in Sasuke's room until it was time to go to Sasuke's therapy. The two said goodbye to Itachi and Konan before the two headed to Naruto's car and climbed in.

When they arrived there, everybody but Kakashi was already sitting in the circle.

"Hey Naruto! Sasuke!" Ino greeted them with a smile.

"I saved you a seat, Sasuke!" Karin patted the empty seat in between her and Suigetsu.

Sasuke looked at the other empty chair between Ino and Kiba and immediately headed over to it, taking a seat with his arms crossed over his chest.

Karin pouted as Naruto sat down next to her, giving her a sheepish grin. "Guess we're seat buddies, Karin!" She gave him a glare and he gulped before turning to Ino. "So, what are Friday's like?"

"Kind of like a free day." Ino replied. "Whatever is bothering us, or if something is on our mind, we talk about it. It's a venting day. Speaking of which," she gave him a mischievous grin. "Something's been bothering me since Wednesday."

"Oh really, Ino?" Karin's tone also changed to a more mischievous one.

Kiba narrowed his eyes at the two girls. "You guys have something planned. I just know it."

Ino shrugged. "It's not really a plan as much as it's a question for our dear Naruto."

"You know, he's technically not even a part of this therapy group. He doesn't even have to participate. As long as he interprets for Sasuke, he doesn't have to say anything else." Suigetsu casually pointed out.

Naruto gave the group a large smile. "Don't worry about that guys, I'm practically an open book!"

'You're going to regret saying that.' Sasuke signed with a shrug.

"What'd he say?" Karin asked, turning herself to face Naruto.

He waved his hand, brushing it off. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, I don't have secrets."

"Alright then," Ino leaned forward in her seat, her grin even wider. Naruto watched her wearily, slightly leaning backwards in his chair. "So what's the whole story between you and Sai? And don't skimp out on any details."

'Told you.' Sasuke gave Naruto a superior smirk. In response, the blonde stuck out his tongue at the raven.

"Oh yeah! Spill the deets!" Karin latched onto the blonde's arm, causing Sasuke's eyebrow to twitch as he stared at the tight grip.

"Uh, I." Naruto began to stutter.

"Yeah! You said you have no secrets, so tell!" Kiba smirked at him.

"Shouldn't we wait until Kakashi gets here?" Naruto tried to stall, he pried his arm out of Karin's grip. "He should be here to direct the conversation, and make sure we don't get off track of today's topic."

"Kakashi's always late." Suigetsu once again pointed out. "And it's his fault if he misses anything. And half the time he's not even paying attention. We can start a session with or without him."

"But still." Naruto frowned.

"No excuses, Naruto." Ino leaned even closer. "Now tell us, the story between you and Sai."


	16. Chapter 16

Naruto cleared his throat and looked around the room. "O-okay, um, where should I start?"

Ino practically jumped out of her seat. "Where did you two meet?"

"Oh! And how?" Karin chimed in.

"Uh," Naruto sheepishly laughed and glanced at Sasuke who was looking bored. "I met him at high school. Through my foster brother. And it was nothing special we were all just hanging out one day and eventually he just started talking to me."

Ino and Karin stared at him, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't continue, the girls looked at each other then turned to face him again, eyebrows raised. "That's it?" Karin asked.

Naruto chuckled with a shrug. "What can I say? Most relationships aren't like a movie."

Ino huffed in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. "Is there at least a story of how you two got together?"

"A short one."

"Tell it!" Karin and Ino shouted together.

Naruto gave a glance to Sasuke who had his arms crossed over his chest, looking bored at the floor. He gave a quick glance to Suigetsu and Kiba who were also giving him curious looks. He turned back to the girls and nodded. "Okay."

The girls cheered before settling down to listen to Naruto.

"It was my junior year of high school, and at the time, Sai was hanging out with my foster brother. I hung out with them too but I mostly kept to myself. It wasn't until a month or two of him hanging out with us that he started to talk to me.

"We started talking about what we wanted to do with our lives, what we were interested in. He talked about his past relationships and that's when we found out that each other was gay. And from that point on we had a flirty type of relationship."

The sound of metal scraping against the floor interrupted Naruto and the group turned in surprise to see Kakashi pulling up a chair. He smiled at them. "Please, continue."

"You're interested in Naruto's relationship with Sai?" Kiba questioned the man before Naruto could continue.

Kakashi gave a casual shrug. "It's interesting how small of a world we live in. And it's nice to know some of my coworker's past."

"Yeah, what was he like?" Ino practically bounced in his seat.

Naruto hummed in response. "That's a little difficult to say."

"What do you mean?" Suigetsu was sitting at the edge of his seat, leaning forward.

Naruto looked around the group and smiled, they were all so eager to hear his story. His eyes stopped on Sasuke and he frowned. The raven was looking irritated, his eyebrows furrowing and his mouth trying to twitch into a sneer. He sighed before turning back to the group, he already started the story, he wasn't going to stop now.

"Well, at first he seemed like your typical emotionally stunted guy. Hardly ever smiled, never showed sadness, sarcastic and sometimes his temper was a little much. But he was still kind and caring to me.

But the longer we started to date, the more I realized, his emotions weren't even real. He reacted to other people's emotions in a way he thought was appropriate."

"What does that mean?" Karin quickly spoke up, looking confused.

Naruto tapped his chin in thought. "For example, on our three month anniversary, he got me a gift." He felt himself give a sad smile at the memory. "It was a framed picture of us that we got taken at a carnival. His arm was wrapped around my shoulder, I was leaning to give him a kiss on his cheek and he was for once, smiling. It was one of the best things anyone gave me. I got so happy the first thing I did was cry.

"But then he got angry and took it back from. I was so shocked and confused by the reaction and all I could say is why.

He said to me, that there's no reason to be upset because he couldn't get me a more expensive gift. And that just made me even more confused. And so i asked him, what made him think I was upset?" He took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "He said the fact that you were crying. And I started to laugh and say I was crying because I was happy. And he had no idea that people cry when they're happy. His anger was gone in an instant like it was never even there."

Karin placed a hand on his leg and he looked down at it in surprise. "That sounds so intense."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty intense at times. But what hurt me the most was just the fact that he did things without thinking of how I'd feel about it."

"So then, why'd you guys break up?" Suigetsu asked with an eyebrow. "Because of all that?"

Naruto shook his head and glanced over at Sasuke. The raven's eyes were locked onto his own. Sasuke knew the truth, but Sai was the group's therapist. If he painted him in a bad light, they're entire relationship with him would change. He looked away from Sasuke quickly. He cleared his throat and gave the group a bittersweet smile. "Well, he was leaving for college and we kinda mutually agreed that we didn't want a long distance relationship."

He immediately felt Sasuke's harsh glare and turned to give him an apologetic look. 'Why are you lying to them?'

Naruto chose to ignore Sasuke's question and turned his gaze back to the group.

"You seemed so angry with him, though." Ino gave him a confused look.

Naruto shrugged. "There were just some bad memories that came up when I first saw him. We kinda talked about them later."

Once again, the sound of a chair scraping against the floor drew the group's attention, this time towards Sasuke who shook his head and left the room.

Naruto gave a sheepish smile to the group and stood up. "But yeah, that's pretty much the story between me and Sai. Now, I'm going to go check up on Sasuke. I'll be right back."

He lightly jogged out the door, immediately turning the corner he stopped and ran a hand through his hair. He made his way towards the bathroom. He turned the doorknob to find it locked. He let out a breath he didn't he realize he was holding. Leaning against the door, he pressed his ear against the door and gave the door a knock. "Sasuke, it's me."

There was silence until the sound of the lock clicked. Naruto quickly pushed himself off the door, just in time for Sasuke to open it abruptly. The raven glared down at the blonde. 'What?'

"Why'd you leave?"

'Because you're lying to everyone in there.'

"I didn't lie!" Naruto quickly defended before he looked down at the floor. "I just left out some of the story."

Sasuke rolled his eyes before pulling the blonde into the bathroom and locking the door. 'What's the difference?'

"I'm sparing them details that they don't need to know. Sai is their therapist, Sasuke. I can't just tell them that kind of stuff. It'll ruin his career."

Sasuke shook his head. 'You should still tell them Naruto. They can form their own opinions of him.'

Naruto shook his head. "Now's just not the time." He was about to leave the bathroom before Sasuke pulled him close to himself and gave him a desperate kiss. Naruto's eyes widened before he slowly closed them and began to kiss him back.

Sasuke was the one to pull away first and Naruto frowned. "What was that for?"

The raven gave him a smirk. 'Just wanted too.'

Naruto chuckled and unlocked the door. Before he opened it, he was once again stopped by Sasuke who grabbed his arm. 'I want you to know, I won't hurt you, Naruto.'

Naruto's eyes widened at Sasuke's words before he looked down at the floor. He then gave Sasuke a small smile. "I hope not."


	17. Chapter 17

Therapy was over quickly once the pair came back. Kakashi gave them the same assignment for the weekend, earning him a 'lazy bastard' comment from Kiba. No one else seemed to complain or care.

"Hey guys, wait up!" Suigetsu called out to Naruto and Sasuke, waving his arms as they were about to cross the parking lot. Sasuke rolled his eyes but stopped along with Naruto. "I wanted to see if you guys wanted to hang out at my place tomorrow. I'm having a small gathering with everyone here."

Before Naruto could agree, Sasuke held up his hand. 'We have plans tomorrow.'

Naruto raised an eyebrow in response to Sasuke. "Plans? What plans do we have?"

"You guys have plans?" Kiba overheard, walking up next to Suigetsu. "What kind of plans? We can join in?"

Ino and Karin were trailing close behind the brunette and Ino's eagerness to join in was shown clearly on her face. "We're in too!"

Sasuke scowled at the group and looked back at Naruto who was giving him a curious look. 'It was supposed to be plans for me and you.'

"Well what are they? They can join in too, can't they?"

Sasuke once again looked at the faces in the group, all their faces hopeful. He once again met eyes with Naruto who was practically giving him the puppy dog look. He rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. 'Fine. They can join in.'

Naruto jumped and clapped his hands. "You guys can come too!"

The group cheered, except for Sasuke who decided to keep glaring at them. He tapped Naruto on the shoulder. 'No Sakura though. Make sure Ino and Karin know.'

Naruto nodded. He turned to face the girls. "No Sakura, okay? Just us."

"Got it." Ino smiled at Naruto.

"She's going to be so jealous that I'm hanging out with Sasuke." Karin cackled.

"Uh oh, the crazy is coming out." Suigetsu muttered to Kiba who nodded in agreement.

"I heard that!" Karin hissed back at him. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, turning to look away. "But I don't care because I'll be hanging out with Sasuke."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her response while everyone else gave her a concerned look.

"What are we even doing?" Ino questioned.

"Oh you're right!" Naruto pointed out. He turned to face Sasuke. "You're trying to make plans without telling me." He smirked at the raven. "What if I already made some?"

Sasuke glared at Naruto. 'You wish.'

"Alright, so what are we doing?" Kiba interrupted, getting impatient.

They all set their eyes on Sasuke. 'I was going to take you to the gallery to finish the rest of the exhibits. And I wanted to get some of my own art started.'

Naruto's eyes widened. "You want to show them all that?"

Sasuke shrugged. 'But not my studio. I'm going to be working on something and I want it to be a surprise.'

Naruto's curiosity was spiked and he was going to question further until Karin spoke up.

"So what are we going to do?" She questioned impatiently. She could feel the jealousy bubbling up and she tried to quell it down.

"Oh. We're going to be going to an art gallery!"

"An art gallery?" Kiba and Suigetsu both groaned. "Maybe we should just chill at your place still."

"No, no! It's really cool and a lot of it is interactive!" Naruto tried to convince them. "Sasuke and his brother both have a gallery there too!"

"Woah, really?!" Ino spoke up. She smirked. "I would go just to see Itachi's work."

"And I can show you guys that!" Naruto spoke excitedly. "So are you guys in?"

The group looked at each other before mutually agreeing.

Naruto gave them all directions and times of when to show up before the group said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

"So, what's the surprise you'll be working on?" Naruto questioned as they began the drive home.

Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes. 'It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, moron.'

Naruto glared at the road before directing his gaze to Sasuke. "I don't know, maybe you were going to surprise the group. It didn't have to include me too."

Sasuke shook his head, deciding not to respond.

Naruto let out his own sigh and continued to drive.

They made it home shortly to see Itachi was already home. They walked in through the kitchen to see him looking through the fridge, Konan sitting at the island.

"Hey guys. I didn't expect to see you guys here." Naruto commented, watching as Sasuke sat down next to Konan and looked boredly at what Itachi was doing.

"Yeah, I decided not to go to work today. Remember?" Itachi replied casually. He took a step back and scratched at his head. "What were you guys feeling for dinner?"

"Burgers." Was Konan's instant reply.

Naruto gave her a concerned look before looking to Itachi and Sasuke who acted like everything was normal. "Do you ever want anything else?"

Konan stared at him. "French fries."

Naruto coughed once and didn't respond. "I don't really have anything in mind."

Itachi nodded. "I'm feeling kind of lazy, who's down for takeout?"

"I'll have it if I can get a burger." Konan shrugged.

Itachi shrugged in response. "You can have anything you want."

Konan smirked at him. "What I want isn't on the menu."

Naruto gave her a horrified look while Sasuke rolled his eyes. Itachi gave her a smirk back. "Let's save that for dessert."

"Oh my god!" Naruto covered his face with his hands and shook his head quickly.

While Naruto's face was covered, Sasuke quickly signed to Itachi. Naruto removed his hands in time for him to catch, 'tell him.' He narrowed his eyes at the two ravens. "Tell me what?"

Itachi slowly turned his gaze to Naruto and gave him a slow, small smile. "Sasuke and I have some obligations to attend to on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. So those will be your free times during the week."

Naruto blinked. "Oh. Okay." He quickly glanced at Sasuke who was seemingly staring at nothing. He shook his head, dismissing the odd behavior.

"Now," Itachi clapped his hands together. "Let's order food."

They all gathered in the living room as they ordered their food. They sat and watched TV while waiting, continuing to watch shows and enjoy each other's company as the food arrived and they dug in.

Once they deemed it late enough, the four of them headed to bed to start the next day.

"Let's go, Sasuke!" Naruto woke up, getting ready in a flash. He knocked loudly on Sasuke's door after hearing the alarm going off half an hour ago and getting no response from the raven. "Sasuke!"

"Naruto." The blonde turned around to see Itachi coming out of his room, shirtless and his silk pajama pants hanging low on his waist. He felt his cheeks heat up and he quickly turned back around before the older raven could notice him begin to blush.

"Y-yes?"

"Why are you yelling so loudly and banging on the door so obnoxiously at such an ungodly hour?" Itachi glared at the blonde who was still facing the opposite way.

"Ungodly hour?!" Naruto guwaffed and turned back around, his embarrassment quickly vanishing. "It's almost noon!"

"Exactly my point." Itachi let out an annoyed sigh, realizing that even if he wanted too, he wasn't going back to sleep. He looked at his open door into his bedroom to see Konan fast asleep. He glared at the sleeping girl, jealous he wasn't lying there next to her.

"Me and Sasuke have plans today," Naruto began to whine. "And he knows we told everyone a certain time and he hasn't left his room and we have to leave soon! And then-"

He was interrupted by Sasuke's door slamming open and Sasuke dressed and ready, walking straight past him and Itachi. He blinked before smiling brightly. "Nevermind! See you later, Itachi!" He practically skipped past him and down the hallway after Sasuke.

Itachi shook his head and walked back into his room.

Naruto hopped into the passenger seat as Sasuke already had the car started. "You excited? We get to spend time with our friends without having to talk about our feelings."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Naruto snickered. "And you can't even respond otherwise because you're driving!" A glare was sent his way. "So I can only assume you're agreeing with me."

A gentle push caused his head to hit the headrest and he glared at the raven. "Jerk." He muttered.

They arrived to see that the others were already there, standing around outside their cars, waiting. As Sasuke parked the car, Naruto eagerly jumped out before the raven could turn off the car. "Hey guys!"

"Naruto!" Kiba was the first to greet him, waving excitedly.

Naruto ran up to the group, Sasuke casually trailing behind him. "Are you guys ready? This place is so awesome! You guys are going to love it!"

"Don't forget about me." A voice from behind the group called and they all turned to see Sakura in her car, leaning out the window. "Hi, Sasuke! Wait up, I'm just going to find parking and I'll be right there!" She gave a quick wave before driving to find parking.

Sasuke glared at Karin who crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. "She followed me."

"Way to go, Karin." Suigetsu groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Don't worry guys, we'll make the most of it." Naruto tried to brighten the mood of the group. They heard Sakura shouting Sasuke's name and they all gave him a blank look. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Or at least try too."


	18. Chapter 18

"And can you believe my mom said that to me?!" Sakura screeched at Sasuke.  
'Go away!' Sasuke signed.  
The group walked into the building, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke taking the lead.  
"Oh Sasuke, you're so silly!" She giggled, slapping his shoulder lightly.  
Kiba and Suigetsu rolled their eyes at each other. Into made a gagging noise causing Karin to laugh loudly and Naruto snickered.  
The pinkette turned her head sharply to glare at the blonde. "What is your problem?"  
Ino gave her a shrug. "You. You weren't invited, and yet, you're here."  
"Woah." Deidara walked down the hall and his eyes widened at the group of people in front of him. "Hello, un! Welcome to-, wait." Blue eyes squinted as he got closer then widened in recognition. "Naruto? Sasuke?"  
"Hey Deidara!" Naruto smiled brightly at him. "These are our friends!"  
Sakura coughed loudly, grabbing everyone's attention. "And I'm Sasuke's girlfriend, Sakura."  
Deidara gave her a confused look. "Girlfriend?" He glanced at Naruto and Sasuke. "But weren't you two on a date just the other day?"  
Naruto let out a strangled yelp while Sasuke glared dangerously at Deidara.  
"What?!" Everyone but Ino screeched, giving the pair bewildered looks.  
"You guys didn't see this coming?" Ino crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow in questioning.  
"And you did?" Karin glared at her.  
"I mean, just the tension with Sai there the other day was obvious enough."  
Sakura turned and looked at Naruto.  
The blonde made eye contact before giving her a superior smirk. He then lightly grasped onto Sasuke's arm.   
Her eyes narrowed darkly. She took a step towards Sasuke, reaching for his arm. The raven quickly moved out of the way.  
"Whatever. It was just a date. Not like you two are officially going out."  
"Don't mind her." Suigetsu piped up.  
"Yeah, she's crazy and delusional." Kiba chimed in.  
"O-kay, un." Deidara glanced back at Naruto and Sasuke, utter confusion on his face.  
Naruto gave him a helpless look and a shrug, the raven only shaking his head. "Anyways, we're here to check out the galleries."  
'I'm going to work in my studio.' Sasuke signed before walking away.  
"Wait, Sasuke, I'll go with you!" Sakura called out.  
Sasuke turned to glare at her. 'No. Leave me alone.' He then turned to continue walking, disappearing out of sight.   
Sakura sucked her teeth, giving a disgusted look to Naruto. "Look what you did."  
Naruto snorted. "What I did? I didn't do anything." He couldn't help but to take the bait.  
"He's so ashamed that his date with you was exposed. Now he can't even be seen in public with you." Sakura sneered at him.  
The blonde let out an exasperated sigh before taking in a deep breath. He faced the rest of the group, choosing to ignore Sakura. He smiled at them. "You guys ready to see some art?"  
"Yeah. And then I want more information on you and Sasuke." Kiba demanded.  
Naruto laughed sheepishly. "We'll see."  
The group began to walk down the hallway. Deidara placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, causing the smaller blonde to pause and face him. "You okay?"  
"I don't have to go with you guys, right, un?" Deidara asked almost timidly.  
Naruto narrowed his eyes, confused by Deidara's odd behavior. "No, you don't have to go. Is everything okay?"  
"I just don't want to be anywhere near her, un." He pointed down the hall where Sakura was standing behind the group, her arms crossed. She glanced at the two blondes before glaring.  
They jumped in fright as she began to make her way towards them. "Oh shit. I gotta go, there's some important paperwork that needs to be done in the back." He quickly fled, going behind the desk and into the back room.  
Naruto glared at the closing door. "Asshole." He hissed out.  
"Natto." Sakura stood in front of him.  
Naruto rolled his eyes. The pretending not to know his name game was starting to get old. "Yes, Sarada?" He responded with a fairly sweet tone of voice.  
Sakura gave him an odd look. "My name is Sakura."  
"That's not what I said?" Naruto played dumb but was internally cackling.  
She waved him off. "Whatever." She gave him a smug look. "I just wanted to let you know since Sasuke won't be joining us, because of you," her eyes looked him up and down. "I'm just going to leave."  
"Really?" Naruto smiled brightly, a hopeful glint in his eyes. She gave him a glare. "Alright, bye. See ya." He waved as he walked past her to join up with the rest of the group.  
"Alright guys, ready to go?" Naruto announced as he stood in front of them.  
"Hell yeah!" Kiba shouted, pumping his fist in the air.  
"Let's go then!" Naruto led them to the first gallery.  
He showed them each gallery and studio that Sasuke showed him. They even got a chance to meet Kisame.  
They reached Sasori's studio where Naruto immediately encouraged someone to ring the bell, nervously eyeing the door.  
Karin scoffed at Naruto's behavior and stepped closer to the door. "I don't know why you're acting so scared. There's nothing to be afraid of." She pushed the button and stood impatiently.   
The door opened and her gaze went down before a loud scream left her mouth and she quickly scrambled backwards.  
Kina and Suigetsu burst out laughing, holding onto each other to keep from falling over. Ino hid her own snickers behind her hand.  
Naruto gave her a mocking smile. "I don't know why you're acting so scared. There's nothing to be afraid of, Karin." He snickered. "It's just a puppet."  
"A puppet?" Karin questioned, trying to catch her breath.  
"Hey, is everyone okay, un?" Deidara stepped into the doorway, looking at them with concern. "Where's that pink-haired, annoying one?"  
"She left once she realized Sasuke really wasn't joining us." Ino answered.  
"Oh." Deidara looked excited. "I can show you guys the rest of the galleries then. I f you want me to."  
Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! That would be awesome!"  
"Okay then! Take a look inside Sasori's gallery. I'm going to let him know I'll be guiding you guys." He walked back into the room, leaving the door open for them to enter.  
After looking around at the different puppets, Deidara led them out the door and to the next room.  
"This next one is Hidan's, he does weapon sculptures." Deidara opened the door for then to go in.  
"Woah! Look at this!" Kiba shouted excitedly. "This is a battle axe made from used batteries!"  
"No way!" Suigetsu ran up next to him and looked in awe.  
Naruto looked around to see a bunch of different types of weapons made from different mediums.  
"A glass sword?" Ino questioned the piece she was staring at.  
Karin walked up next to Ino and also studied the piece. "Seems kind of counterproductive." She shrugged and continued walking.  
"So Hidan and Kakuzu are on vacation so their studios are locked, un. But we could move onto Kakuzu's next." Deidara said as the group finished looking around the room.  
"So what's Kakuzu's art style?" Suigetsu asked, keeping pace with the older blonde.  
Deidara laughed to himself before giving Suigetsu a smirk. "Oh, you'll see."  
"I bet it's going to be something super cool!" Kiba began to talk excitedly.   
"Like what?" Ino questioned, raising her eyebrow in amusement.   
Kiba tapped his chin. "Like...all dog sculptures!"  
Naruto let out a loud quick laugh. Karin sneered at the brunette. "I think that's just you."  
"Here we are!" Deidara announced. He pushed open the door. "You guys ready?"  
The group hurriedly entered the dark room. Deidara let the door close behind them, engulfing them in pitch black. There was a soft glow as they heard the click of a light switch. The glow slowly grew brighter and soon they could see the floor was glittering in a gold color.  
"Wait a minute," Naruto's eyes widened in realization. "Is this all-"  
"Money?!" Karin interrupted with a screech.  
"Yes it is, un." Deidara grinned, amused at the group's reactions.  
"Why would you use money as a medium?" Suigetsu was seriously questioning the sanity of this Kakuzu guy. He raised an eyebrow at a small framed picture of George Washington made out of dollar bills.  
Deidara shrugged. "The guy is obsessed with money."  
"So wouldn't it make sense to not use it so wastefully?" Ino asked, looking at the floor. The floor alone looked like it was made from all pennies.  
"Could you imagine how much this whole room is worth?" Karin looked around fondly at each piece of work, a glimmer in her eyes.   
"That's the thing," Deidara began to answer Ino's question. "He worships it. This is like his temple in a way, un. And it's also a security blanket. If he's ever in a financial pinch, un, he can just come here and take from it."  
Naruto nodded approvingly. "Smart man."  
"Ready to see the last room, un?" Deidara asked. He didn't wait for an answer as he walked towards the door. After opening it, he looked over his shoulder, satisfied that they were following him. "Whoever is last, make sure you turn off the light, un. Kakuzu doesn't want his electric bill to be high."  
Kiba scoffed. "He's worried over money?"  
"He just doesn't want to spend it uselessly."  
They walked to the end of the hallway where a lone door stood.  
"Here we are, Tobi's studio!"  
They walked in, only to be seemingly entering into another world. The walls, ceiling and floor were painted in a way that made it seem like they were in space.  
"Woah." They all awed in unison.  
"This is so cool." Karin was the first to break out of the mesmerizing trance and took another step further into the room. She stepped towards a glowing globe that appeared to be floating in midair. She reached out to touch it, only for her fingers to go right through it. "Huh?"  
"Do you like my illusion art?" A voice echoed throughout the room. Everyone but Deidara looked around the room wildly, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.   
A childlike giggle came from the unknown source. "No luck in trying to find me, I'm not in the room! I'm Tobi by the way!"  
"If you're not here, then where are you?!" Karin demanded, stomping her foot childishly.  
"Nice try, but it's a secret." The voice got quite with each word until it was practically a whisper.   
"He changes the layouts of his illusions every few months, un." Deidara explained. "The last room was 'Under The Sea'. You should've seen it, un! There was a giant Great White swimming above you at all times."  
Suigetsu's eyes lit up at Deidara's description. "That sounds like heaven."  
"Only you would think so." Karin commented with a smirk.  
"You say it like it's a bad thing." He deadpanned.  
Karin bristled at the lack of a response and turned her head with a huffy.  
"Hey, it's just another excuse to make sure we come back again, right blondie?" Kiba threw his arm around Naruto's neck and pulled him closer to himself.  
"Hell yeah! I had fun." Naruto grinned brightly at them.  
"We all did." Ino said as they made their way back to the lobby.   
"Yeah, it was fun, un!" Deidara chimed in. "Especially when whatever her name is left."  
"Don't worry, we don't normally hang out with her. Karin just wanted to one-up her but clearly it backfired." Kiba glared at the red-head who stuck out her tongue at the brunette.  
"Good." Deidara smiled at them.  
They reached the lobby and Deidara said his goodbyes, heading back to hangout with Sasori.  
"Now, let's go get Sasuke and we can discuss this date that happened the other day." Ino gave Naruto a smirk. "Come on, let's go guys!"


	19. Chapter 19

The group walked back to Sasuke's studio, knocking on his door to alert them they were there. Sasuke made his way out, joining the group in the lobby where Deidara said his goodbyes.

"Let's meet at the diner." Ino suggested as soon as they were all in the parking lot. "Since it's Sakura's day off and she already gave up for the day, I doubt she'd be there."

"Makes sense to me." Suigetsu agreed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. Naruto raised his eyebrow at him. "Is that okay with you, Sasuke?"

'I just don't see a point in discussing our date with them. It's our business.'

This time, it was Naruto who rolled his eyes. He looked back at the group, four pairs of curious eyes on him. He let out a sigh. "Yeah, we can meet up there. He's just grumpy."

Kiba snickered. "What else is new?"

A glare was sent his way by both Sasuke himself and Karin.

"Alright, great! Let's all meet there then!" Ino clapped her hands together before walking towards her car, Karin following behind her.

"See ya soon, guys!" Kiba waved as he followed Suigetsu to his car.

Naruto turned to Sasuke with a smile. "Alright, let's go!"

They reached the diner quickly and made their way inside where the group was already waiting for them.

"Don't worry, Sasuke." Karin smiled sweetly at the raven as he sat down between Naruto and Suigetsu. "I double checked for you to make sure Sakura wouldn't be here."

Sasuke stared at her blankly before letting out a grunt as Naruto's elbow jabbed into his side.

Naruto smiled back at her. "He says thank you."

A waitress soon arrived, taking their orders. As soon as she left, Ino leaned on the table, setting her gaze on Naruto and Sasuke. She gave them a smirk. "So, your date, how'd it go?"

Naruto sheepishly laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "It went pretty good."

"Come on, blondie! We need details!" Kiba urged.

"Yeah, spill em!" Suigetsu poked Sasuke's side. The raven gave him a warning glare but Suigetsu ignored it.

"Th-there's not much to tell. We just went to the art gallery and looked at a couple galleries. Really, nothing special." Naruto tried to brush it off.

"No kiss, or anything?" Ino inquired, eyeing the blonde.

"No. Not that time." Naruto mumbled.

There was a collective gasp and Naruto groaned as Sasuke's elbow went into his own side. He glared at the raven only to receive one back. "What's your prob-"

"You kissed Sasuke?!" Karin's voice shouted. The restaurant briefly went silent as all eyes stared at them.

Suigetsu waved everyone's gaze away and glared at the red-head. "Are you crazy screaming like a madwoman?"

"I'm sorry but it's just shocking news." Karin huffed.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Is it really so shocking?"

"Yeah, I mean he's here now, only because of Naruto." Kiba pointed out.

Naruto blinked as he felt a poke on his shoulder. He looked back at Sasuke.

'Tell them to shut up.' Sasuke signed, cheeks slightly red.

Naruto snickered. "Aw, you getting embarrassed?"

Sasuke gave him a pointed look but made no other reaction, instead choosing to glare collectively at the group.

"Spill the beans on the kiss!" Karin urged.

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow at her. "It almost seems like you're eager to learn more." He let out an exaggerated gasp, causing her to send a glare this way. "Are you actually maturing?"

"Give it a rest, Suigetsu." Ino rolled her eyes. She looked back to Naruto. "But for real, spill!"

"It wasn't much," he gave them a shrug. "Just a simple kiss is all."

Ino frowned and studied the blonde. She let out a sigh. "Fine. Keep your secrets. We'll get it out of you one day."

"That was pretty fun, huh?" Naruto smiled over at Sasuke as he turned off the car after parking in the driveway of the Uchiha house.

Sasuke gave him a look before getting out of the car and made his way to the house, Naruto following closely behind him.

The pair entered the house, the sound of the TV playing in the living room. Naruto raised an eyebrow at Sasuke who shrugged in return. The blonde peeked his head into the room to see Itachi and Konan cuddling on the couch watching a show.

"Uh, we're home." Naruto greeted.

"How did your little outing go?" Itachi questioned, looking up from his position on the couch.

"Pretty good. We had fun." Naruto smiled brightly at him. Sasuke came up from behind Naruto to look into the room as well.

'What are you watching?' The younger raven signed.

"Some kind of crime drama series that Konan's into." At the mention of her name, she looked up at Itachi and placed a light kiss on his neck before lying back on his chest and giving her attention to the TV. "It's actually pretty interesting. The story sucks you in. Wanna join us?"

Naruto looked back at Sasuke who shrugged in return.

"We're ordering delivery later." Itachi taunted.

"You've been ordering out more often, haven't you." Naruto made a comment.

Itachi shrugged and looked back at the TV, slowly running his fingers through Konan's hair.

"I guess an episode or two won't hurt." Naruto shrugged and dragged Sasuke to the loveseat. He pushed the raven down before settling in next to him. It wasn't long before Sasuke threw his arm over his shoulders. Naruto smiled to himself and snuggled in closer.

The four watched TV for a couple hours, time seeming to slip away. The doorbell unexpectedly rang causing the blonde to come back to reality. He cleared his throat before standing up. "I'll get it. Be right back."

He made his way to the front door, checking the grandfather clock that was placed near the entrance. The blonde figured it was too late for any salesman, probably someone who was lost and needed directions. He unlocked the door and opened it, only for his eyes to widen at the person standing in front of him. "Gaara?!" He quietly hissed out.

The red head smirked at him, arms crossed across his chest. "Naruto, I've finally found you."

The blonde narrowed his eyes at him. "Get out of here, you're not welcomed here."

"Why, I only want to talk, Naruto." His smirk seemed to only grow more sinister. He took a step forward. "It'll be quick."

"No. Go away." He took a step back and was about to close the door when Gaara's foot stopped it from fully shutting.

"Come on, you don't want me to cause a scene in front of your precious Uchiha's, do you?" His tone of voice sounded sweet, but his expression was the opposite.

Naruto glanced towards the living room where he was just able to see Sasuke who had his head resting on his fist, his attention still on the TV. The blonde let out a sigh before glaring back at Gaara. "Make it quick." He opened the door, allowing Gaara to take a step back, before he himself stepped out and closed the door behind him. "Now what do you want?"

"I want to be back in your life, Naruto."

Naruto was stunned into silence. He looked Gaara up and down. "What?"

"It's true." Gaara gave him a sincere look. "After seeing you again at the bar, I realized how much I've missed you."

"You missed me?!" Naruto shouted hysterically, he let out a laugh. "What kind of bullshit is that?"

"I've changed Naruto." He gave him a serious look. "I'm not who I was back then. I just genuinely want to make sure you're doing okay, that this Uchiha is treating you right."

"What is your problem!" Naruto shouted. He pulled at his hair, feeling like he was losing his mind. "You want to know if I'm being treated right?! You lost that right a long time ago!" He knew he was being loud, a warning in the back of his head made sure he knew, but at this point, he didn't care. "I don't know what kind of sick, twisted game you're trying to pull, Gaara, but I'm not here for it."

"I can assure you, Naruto, I'm not playing any games." Gaara put his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "I just sincerely care."

"Bullshit!" Naruto screamed.

The sound of the front door opening had Naruto's stomach dropping. He froze and slowly turned to see Sasuke, Itachi and Konan all curiously looking at the two standing in front of them.

"We heard shouting." Konan stated as she looked Gaara up and down.

"Wanted to check to make sure everything is okay." Itachi raised an eyebrow in question at Naruto who refused to make direct eye contact with him.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto's strange behavior. 'Who is this?' He signed quickly.

"Allow me to answer that, Sasuke." Gaara stepped forward, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder who quickly pushed it off. "I'm Naruto's foster brother, Gaara Sabaku."


	20. Chapter 20

At the introduction, Sasuke’s eyes widened briefly before narrowing in a dangerous glare.  
“Nice to meet you, Gaara.” Itachi gave the redhead a genuine smile. “Any family of Naruto’s is welcomed here.”  
“That’s okay, Itachi.” Naruto quickly spoke up, a large but nervous smile on his face. “Gaara was just leaving. He doesn’t want to come in.” He grabbed onto Gaara’s arm, pulling him in the opposite direction of the Uchiha house.  
“Now Naruto,” Gaara gracefully pulled his arm out of Naruto’s grip, giving him a smirk. “It would be rude of me to decline such a generous offer.”  
‘Don’t let him in!’ Sasuke signed quickly in front of his brother, sending him a glare.  
Itachi gave Sasuke his own glare, shoving him to the side. “Please, don’t mind my little brother. My name is Itachi and this is Konan. We were just about to order dinner if you’d like to join us.” The older Uchiha gestured to him, leading him inside.  
Naruto and Sasuke stayed in front of the house as they watched the other three head back into the house.  
‘What the hell is he doing here?’ Sasuke signed erratically, giving the blonde a confused look.  
“I don’t know!” Naruto pulled at his hair in frustration. He crouched down to the ground, resting his elbows on top of his knees. “He just showed up saying he wanted to be back in my life.”  
‘Say no.’  
Naruto snorted and rolled his eyes and then ran a hand through his golden locks. “You don’t think I did? He was trying to convince me that he’s being serious and he’s a changed man.”  
‘Sounds like bullshit to me.’  
“That’s what I said! And then everyone came out and now he’s going to be buddy buddy with Itachi!” Naruto groaned loudly.   
‘Itachi doesn’t make friends that quickly.’ The raven walked over to the blonde, standing in front of him and looking down. When Naruto gave him his full attention, he held out his hand for the blonde to take, helping him up.  
Naruto brushed himself off once he let go of Sasuke’s hand. He let out an exaggerated sigh and stood up straight, giving Sasuke an annoyed look. “Alright. Let’s go in.”  
Sasuke gave him a nod and the pair walked together. They looked in the living room to see the TV was still on but was now muted. Naruto gave the raven a questioning look before shrugging.  
Laughter was heard from the kitchen and Naruto quickly spun on his heel and made his way to the room.  
As he walked in, he saw Itachi and Konan sitting at the bar, Gaara was currently pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator. Cerulean eyes narrowed as he took in the scene displayed in front of him. “Gaara,” he practically hissed. “What are you doing?”  
“Making dinner, of course.” He gave the blonde a charming smile. “I insisted on it.”  
“Of course you did.”   
“Naruto,” Itachi gave the blonde a smile. “How come you’ve never brought Gaara over? We’d be happy to have company over for you.”  
‘Speak for yourself.’ Sasuke signed. Itachi sent him a glare to which Sasuke gave him a shrug, feeling unapologetic.  
“We’re not very close.” Naruto narrowed his eyes at the red-head who was still cooking like nothing was going on.  
“And that’s why I’m here.” Gaara stopped what he was going to give the room a charming smile. “The past is the past and I want you in my life again, Naruto. I can overlook what happened in the past so we can move forward.”  
Naruto’s mouth went agape as he stared at him. “You can overlook the past?! Are you serious right now?! You’re the one who fucked everything up!”  
Gaara went back to cooking the food, giving him a shrug. “I know with time, Naruto, you’ll come around.”  
Naruto’s eyes narrowed dangerously at the red-head as he continued cooking. He even began to start a conversation with Konan as she was once again drawn into his cooking. With a low growl, the blonde spun on his heel and stomped out of the kitchen and to his room.  
Sasuke stood in the kitchen, unsure of what to do. He glanced at his brother who made a gesture to follow after him. The younger Uchiha gave him an understanding nod before following after Naruto.  
When Sasuke made it to the closed bedroom of the room, he heard Naruto mumbling to himself. The raven smirked to himself before standing up straighter and using the back of his knuckles to lightly knock against the door.  
A string of curses came flying out of the blonde’s mouth and then a small crash. “Come in!” He shouted out.  
Sasuke entered the room to see Naruto sitting on the side of his bed, head in his hands covering his face. Onyx eyes scanned the room for any clue on the sound of the crash. He looked next to the nightstand to see the blonde’s phone on the ground. He raised an eyebrow before picking it up and sitting next to him on the bed.   
Naruto made no movement as the bed dipped with Sasuke’s weight.   
Sasuke looked around, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the silence. His eyes fell on the blonde once again and he tapped the blonde’s leg before placing the phone on his leg.  
In a flash, the phone was sent flying nearly halfway across the room and Sasuke’s eyes widened, unsure of what happened. He looked at the blonde, bewildered.  
“I don’t want to talk, Sasuke.” Naruto commented, still keeping his face covered.  
Sasuke frowned as the blonde still refused to look at him. With a sigh and a slight coloring of his cheeks, he wrapped his arm around the blonde’s shoulder and pulled him hard and quickly to his chest, interlocking his other arm together, trapping the blonde against him in an awkward embrace.  
Naruto uncovered his face at the sudden movement and he blinked wildly, letting the tears he was trying so hard to prevent, fall freely. “Wha?” He looked up at the raven who gave him a small, half smile in an attempt to comfort him. Cerulean eyes searched onyx and he then threw himself into Sasuke’s chest, allowing the tears to flow, still staying silent.  
The two boys sat there for a while, it wasn’t long before Sasuke began rubbing the blonde’s back, practically lulling him to sleep. When a soft snore sounded from Naruto’s lips, Sasuke slowly laid the blonde down onto the bed.  
Luckily for Sasuke, Naruto didn’t ever make his bed so throwing the sheets and blankets over him was an easy task. He stood over the blonde, watching him sleep. He smiled to himself before gently tousling golden locks.  
He walked over to the phone that was thrown and picked it up. He curiously looked it over before unlocking it. He made a mental note to have Naruto create a lock for his phone as it opened straight to what Naruto was previously looking at.  
It was on Gaara’s social media page, a picture of him and Naruto, arms over each other’s shoulder. Naruto was smiling brightly, eyes closed and facing the camera. Gaara had a small smirk as he was side glancing at the blonde.  
Sasuke frowned at the picture before locking the phone and placing it back onto Naruto’s nightstand. He left the room and headed to his own.  
As he got ready for bed and lied awake, staring at his ceiling, he made a vow to himself and Naruto. He’d do anything to keep Naruto from that kind of hurt again. With a new sense of determination, Sasuke closed his eyes and began to fall asleep.


End file.
